PMS Subsidy Removal: Don’t Listen To IMF, NLC Warns FG

Related stories

Oil Prices Dip as OPEC+ Boosts Supply

Crude oil prices fell at the start of...

Ranked: The Biggest Currency Drops So Far in 2025

Key Takeaways The Venezuelan bolívar has fallen the most...

Our Officers Deployed To Maintain Order Not To Prevent PDP NEC Meeting — Police

By Kolawole Ojebisi The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has...

Don’t Let Ganduje’s Resignation Divide Us, Dalori Appeals To APC NWC Members, Others

By Kolawole Ojebisi Acting National Chairman of the ruling All...

APC To Hold NEC Meeting On July 24

By Kolawole Ojebisi The ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC) has...

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has cautioned the Federal Government against implementing the recommendation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the removal of subsidy on petroleum products in the country.

Mr Ayuba Wabba, NLC President, gave the advice at a news conference on Saturday in Abuja.

The news conference was tagged: “Public Declaration of Nigeria’s Host of the 6th African Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba, Sept. 23 to Sept. 25 and Inauguration of Local Organising Committee (LOC).

Wabba said that the continued devaluation of the Nigerian currency had created the impression of the existence of subsidy.

He said that as long as the value of the Naira was left to market forces, the issue of subsidy would continue in the country.

The NLC leader urged that efforts should be made by government to upgrade the nation’s refineries.

“As President of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), I recently led organised labour across the world to a meeting with the IMF and the World Bank.

“I told them point blank that their one-stop recommendation on subsidy removal and other sundry policy recommendations to the third world are not working and will not work.”

He said that there was no country in the world where IMF’s recommendations had worked “or are working.’’

According to Wabba, Nigeria should be cautious in considering the options suggested by the IMF.

‘’I saw that many media houses are trying to amplify that the IMF has recommended that subsidy should be removed.

“In the first instance, is there subsidy? This is a question we have not been able to answer.

“And I want to corroborate with what President Buhari said years back that subsidy is actually corruption and that whoever is subsidising is aiding corruption and we stand by that position.

“In fact, that has remained a consistent position of NLC. We can kill that issue of subsidy if we refine our products for our domestic use and it is not rocket science.

“Very soon, we are going to forward a document to government on that,’’ he stated.

He noted that “countries like Venezuela are celebrated because they stood their ground on policies that must work for the people and not for the capitalist.’’

According to him, our own case is a sorry one and the situation is even laughable.

“You own crude oil, you pay for it to be extracted from the ground, you pay for it to be taken outside to be refined, you pay for tax to where you took it to and you also pay to bring it back to your country for consumption.

”This is simply the pathetic story of Nigeria. God Almighty has already given us this resource in abundance, why should our citizens have to suffer to get it for use?

“In the first place, we should only be talking about subsidy if actually we do not produce this product.

“But whereas we are producing it and in abundance in that matter, yet we suffer like we don’t even own a drop of it.

“This is the shameful ordeal Nigerians go through. It is really a funny situation,’’ he said.

Wabba said that if petroleum was refined in the country, the word “subsidy’’ would be a thing of the past.

On the public declaration of Nigeria as the host of the forthcoming meeting, the NLC president said: “We must never forget the sacrifice of Cuban people for the liberation of most African countries.

“And also for decades, Nigerians have been beneficiaries of Cuban government scholarships and education, most especially in the medical field,’’ he said.

Also speaking, Mr Carlos Trejo, Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria, commended the NLC and the Nigerian government for their continued support to ensure the freedom of the Cuban people.

Trejo said that Cuba has constantly been attacked due to their support to the Venezuela government to stand on policies that must work for the people.

“We will never abandon the duty to act in solidarity with Venezuela. So we will continue to call for support for our sovereignty from African countries, among others that can support us,” he said.

'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide's journalism works intersect business, environment, politics and developmental issues. Among a number of local and international publications, his work has appeared in the New York Times. He's a winner of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Award. Currently, the Online Editor at The New Diplomat, Akintomide has produced reports that uniquely spoke to Nigeria's experience on Climate Change issues. When Akintomide is not writing, volunteering or working on a media project, you can find him seeing beautiful sites like the sandy beaches that bedecked the Lagos coastline.

Subscribe

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from up to 5 devices at once

[tds_leads input_placeholder="Your email address" btn_horiz_align="content-horiz-center" pp_msg="SSd2ZSUyMHJlYWQlMjBhbmQlMjBhY2NlcHQlMjB0aGUlMjAlM0NhJTIwaHJlZiUzRCUyMiUyMyUyMiUzRVByaXZhY3klMjBQb2xpY3klM0MlMkZhJTNFLg==" pp_checkbox="yes" tdc_css="eyJhbGwiOnsibWFyZ2luLXRvcCI6IjMwIiwibWFyZ2luLWJvdHRvbSI6IjQwIiwiZGlzcGxheSI6IiJ9LCJwb3J0cmFpdCI6eyJtYXJnaW4tdG9wIjoiMTUiLCJtYXJnaW4tYm90dG9tIjoiMjUiLCJkaXNwbGF5IjoiIn0sInBvcnRyYWl0X21heF93aWR0aCI6MTAxOCwicG9ydHJhaXRfbWluX3dpZHRoIjo3NjgsImxhbmRzY2FwZSI6eyJtYXJnaW4tdG9wIjoiMjAiLCJtYXJnaW4tYm90dG9tIjoiMzAiLCJkaXNwbGF5IjoiIn0sImxhbmRzY2FwZV9tYXhfd2lkdGgiOjExNDAsImxhbmRzY2FwZV9taW5fd2lkdGgiOjEwMTksInBob25lIjp7Im1hcmdpbi10b3AiOiIyMCIsImRpc3BsYXkiOiIifSwicGhvbmVfbWF4X3dpZHRoIjo3Njd9" display="column" gap="eyJhbGwiOiIyMCIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTAiLCJsYW5kc2NhcGUiOiIxNSJ9" f_msg_font_family="downtown-sans-serif-font_global" f_input_font_family="downtown-sans-serif-font_global" f_btn_font_family="downtown-sans-serif-font_global" f_pp_font_family="downtown-serif-font_global" f_pp_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxNSIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTEifQ==" f_btn_font_weight="700" f_btn_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxMyIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTEifQ==" f_btn_font_transform="uppercase" btn_text="Unlock All" btn_bg="#000000" btn_padd="eyJhbGwiOiIxOCIsImxhbmRzY2FwZSI6IjE0IiwicG9ydHJhaXQiOiIxNCJ9" input_padd="eyJhbGwiOiIxNSIsImxhbmRzY2FwZSI6IjEyIiwicG9ydHJhaXQiOiIxMCJ9" pp_check_color_a="#000000" f_pp_font_weight="600" pp_check_square="#000000" msg_composer="" pp_check_color="rgba(0,0,0,0.56)" msg_succ_radius="0" msg_err_radius="0" input_border="1" f_unsub_font_family="downtown-sans-serif-font_global" f_msg_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxMyIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTIifQ==" f_input_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxNCIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTIifQ==" f_input_font_weight="500" f_msg_font_weight="500" f_unsub_font_weight="500"]

Latest stories

NDN
Latest News
Oil Prices Dip as OPEC+ Boosts SupplyRanked: The Biggest Currency Drops So Far in 2025Our Officers Deployed To Maintain Order Not To Prevent PDP NEC Meeting -- PoliceDon't Let Ganduje's Resignation Divide Us, Dalori Appeals To APC NWC Members, OthersAPC To Hold NEC Meeting On July 24Bode George Warns Tinubu, Decries Police Occupation Of PDP SecretariatClosing Ogoni wounds, opening old onesMy CFR National Honours Award, By Col Abubakar D. Umar (Retd)Chaos Escalate As PDP Shifts BoT Meeting to New Venue Amid Police Siege at Party SecretariatPDP Crisis Deepens As 11 NWC Members Ignore Damagum, Hold NEC MeetingNEC Meeting: Tension Mounts As Police Take Over PDP Secretariat In Abuja2027: Peter Obi Declares Readiness for One-Term Presidency in Atiku, El-Rufai-Led CoalitionShun Sycophants In Your Government, Col Umar Tells TinubuCourt Adjourns Natasha's Trial Till September 22, Grants Senator Bail On Self-RecognitionNEC Meeting: PDP Raises Alarm, Accuses APC of Taking Over Secretariat with Police
X whatsapp