Ahead of the August 2 date for commencement of a nationwide strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), a Coalition of Civil Society Organisations and Political Parties for Good Governance (COSOSAP) has appealed to the organised Labour to drop the strike option.
National Coordinator of COSOSAP, Dr. Lillian Ene Ogbole, made the appeal on Thursday at a news conference.
Meanwhile, the NLC has given the notice to compel the federal government to review the sustained increase in price of petrol which it described as anti-masses.
Following the Labour threat, the federal government had cautioned against the strike.
A statement by the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs. B.E. Jedy-Agba, said it had earlier secured an order from the National Industrial Court in Abuja, which it said restrained the labour union from embarking on any strike action over issues bordering on “removal of fuel subsidy, hike in prices of petrol and consequential increase in cost of living,” pending the determination of the suit.
Dr Lillian Ene Ogbole at the media briefing said the oil subsidy regime was no longer sustainable as it constituted a drain pipe on the nation’s purse can no longer be sustained as it constituted a source of monumental corruption and a clog in the wheels of the Nation’s progress in the last forty five years.
She further appealed to the Organised Labour and Nigerians to realise that it was in the best interest of the nation to do away with it.
“It is true that Nigerians desire and deserve to buy petrol at a cheaper rate, but again it is equally true that neither our economy, nor any other economy in the world can bear the brunt of the mega corruption associated with the fuel subsidy regime as was obtainable in Nigeria.
“It suffices therefore to say that, the only way our dear nation Nigeria would not go the way of failed states like Venezuela and Sri Lanka etc., is to obliterate the fuel subsidy regime.
“This accounted for why the last administration ended the fuel subsidy regime in the twilight of its tenure as evident in their refusal to make appropriation for fuel subsidy for the month of June 2023 and even subsequent months.”
She expressed the hope that the present administration would do everything possible to mitigate the influence of the high cost of petrol.
She said: “We use this medium to appeal for patience and understanding from all Nigerians as the historic and courageous struggle to bring to everlasting end the retrogressive and corrupt subsidy regime to pave way for robust and competitive open market operations and competitions vis a vis as in the telecommunication industry.
“Patience, not pressure, Encouragement, and not Rage, Should be our attitude towards the government of the day.
“We are a people with common goals and objective. Let us support this administration so that we can survive the current challenges of the transition from a regulated fuel subsidy based economy, to a fuel subsidy free economy.”
The rights group also welcomed and commended the President on the declaration of state of emergency on food security in the country.
“On this note, we welcome and commend the declaration of the State of Emergency on Food Security by the President. We expect his action to encourage a massive reduction and stability in the prices of food stuffs in the country.
“We call on all major stakeholders in the petroleum sector to play by the rules to ensure that the effort to set the Nigerian economy on the path of growth and development is not frustrated and truncated.
“We use this avenue to call on Government regulatory agencies to expose and sanction any company that may indulge in the importation of substandard petroleum products into the country without hesitation.
“It is worthy of note therefore to mention emphatically that Nigeria Labour Congress cannot roll in the path of any form of industrial action either by way of protest or nationwide strike as this will further escalate more crisis and problem than what is presently obtainable.
“It is no news that the world at large is going through severe Post-Covid hardship; this has damaged several economies around the globe today. This information that is available for free on various global communication platforms. It will begin to send malicious signals both locally and internationally if what is rated as global crisis is being contained and handled by the umpire labour body in a way and manner that throws the country into uncontrollable uproar. The menace of difficult times and hardship can only be overcome through reasoning together and working in synergy to achieve prosperity and progress.”
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