Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) said it would still go ahead with its plan to protest the proposed deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil industry slated for October 29 in Abuja even though there have been talks that such demonstration would embarrass the country in view of the current under-17 FIFA World football championship going on across the country.
Acting President of the NLC, Comrade Peter Adewusi, who spoke with some labour correspondents in Abuja during the weekend, said that indications were rife that petrol would be sold for N104, conceding that N94 perlitre is also being speculated.
He advised Nigerians not to take the anticipated increase ‘lying down’ as he called on them to join the NLC, TUC and civil societies forthe ‘mother of all protests’ to protest the fuel price increase, minimum wage, implementation of Uwais Electoral reform Panel Recommendation among other issues.
This came as NLC Vice President, Comrade Issah Aremu, yesterday at a special 40-day prayer/tribute session for late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, organised by the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) and civil society organisations in Kaduna said what Nigerians currently need is good governance and not policy of deregu-lation.
Aremu, who doubles as General Secretary of NUTGTWN, also called on the Federal Government to be more democratic, people sensitive and be a human focused administration.
Meanwhile, senior civil servants, under the aegis of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), have implored President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to hearken to the voice of the people and discard the proposed deregulation policy, saying it would further impoverish Nigerians.
President of ASCSN, Comrade Olakunle Olaitan, who made this call at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the association in Lagos, urged government and other viable organisations to invest in the construction of new refineries and repair of existing ones so that the issue of importation of petroleum products will be a thing of the past.
He said it was regrettable that the country with vast human and material resources to refine these products and make them available at affordable prices has continued to spend huge amount of hard earned income on importation.
Oct262009