Leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, yesterday, shunned a scheduled meeting with government officials over the removal of subsidy and subsequent over 200 per cent hike in the pump price of petrol until fuel price is returned to status quo.
Following President Bola Tinubu’s removal of the subsidy during his inauguration speech on May 29, scarcity of the product hit the citizenry nationwide as marketers hoarded and hiked the price of fuel.
A meeting between government officials and labour leaders last Wednesday, ended in a deadlock, as a result of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL’s release of a petrol pump price template pegging pump price of petrol at between N488 and N557 per litre.
The meeting was scheduled to continue yesterday but one of the leaders of the NLC told Vanguard that “officials of government have been calling us and we have bluntly told them that we will no longer hold any meeting with them until the pump price of petrol is returned to pre-May 29 price.
“In other words, the pump price of petrol has to return to status quo to give room for negotiation and way forward.’’
However, leaders of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, yesterday met with government officials but the meeting was inconclusive as both parties resolved to continue talks on the issue tomorrow(Today). They also demanded a pay rise to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal.