By Uche Nnorom, Makurdi
Benue State Chapter of the Nigeria Labor Congress, NLC has asked all it industrial unions to tell their members to stay at home as the two day warning strike commences today.
State Chairman NLC Comrade Terungwa Igbe told our correspondent in a telephone chat in Makurdi.
Comrade Igbe stressed that the strike is justified as it aims to bring to the fold the harrowing hardship Nigerians are going as a result of the fuel subsidy removal.
According to him, the whole exercise of Palliatives by the Federal Govermment is condemnable and unsustainable.
Hear him,”am around monitoring what is happening. It is a warning strike. The Fuel subsidy removal is something that has affected all of us. Before if you have 20,000 naira it is something but now, it is different. That is why you see even convoy of governors is not long. Even I go on bike. If you take 10,000 naira and put fuel, you can only go to two (2) places and it is finished.
“We have asked the industrial unions to tell their members to stay at home. I will not enforce it since it is just a warning strike but what we are doing is for everyone’s benefit. Even if you are a rich man and feel it does not affect you, the money you have will lose value. TUC disassociating itself from the warning strike will not affect us.
“There are certain categories of people or groups like the Christians or Muslims who do not belong to any of these unions and you know that their population is large but they are affected by the Fuel Subsidy removal. So, it is not an issue of NLC or TUC but it is an issue of all Nigerians. What we are saying is that the palliative is not sustainable because for instance,if you are given 10,000 naira for one year and after then, what happens? Or if it is given to you for 6 months after then what happens?
“We are not talking about the money that the Federal Government have given to State governments as palliative is small. What we are saying is that the palliative is not the way to go. The way to go is to repair the oil refineries and the price of fuel will reduce. When the price of fuel is reduced, it affects the price of everything and everyone enjoy, the market people, traders and workers enjoy.
Because the moment you tamper with fuel, you have tampered with every sector of the economy”.
