The Trade Union Congress on Tuesday took a swipe at the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, who told Nigerians to prepare for the pain associated with the increase in crude oil price.
Also, the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and other stakeholders on Tuesday advised the Federal Government to use rising revenue from crude oil to tackle poverty and drive an all-inclusive growth.
The groups stated this in separate interviews while reacting to a statement by Sylva, who earlier on Tuesday warned Nigerians to expect benefits and pain from the rising price of crude oil in the world market.
For Nigeria, which relies on crude oil for about 50 percent of government revenues and over 90 percent of export earnings, rising oil price means increased revenue.
In an earlier report on Tuesday that the landing cost of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) imported into the country had risen by 13.34 per cent in one month to about N180 per litre on the back of the increase in global oil prices.
The international oil benchmark, Brent crude, which rose to $59.34 per barrel on Friday from $53.70 per barrel on January 7, crossed the $60 per barrel mark on Tuesday for the first time in over 12 months.
Crude oil price accounts for a large chunk of the final cost of petrol, and the deregulation of petrol price by the Federal Government last year means that the pump price of the product will reflect changes in the international oil market.
Since November 13, 2020 when the pump prices of PMS were last increased in the country, the oil price has increased by over 45 per cent.
Going by the petrol pricing template of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, the landing cost of petrol rose to N179.67 per litre last Friday from N158.53 per litre on January 7, with the expected open market price (pump price) of the product increasing to N202.67 per litre from N181.53 per litre.
The rising price of crude oil pushed the cost of petrol quoted on Platts to $543.25 per metric tonne (N157.99 per litre, using N390/$1) last Friday from $480.25 per MT (N139.67 per litre) on January 7.
The NNPC, which has been the sole importer of petrol into the country in recent years, is still being relied upon by marketers for the supply of the product despite the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector.
The Federal Government removed petrol subsidy in March 2020 after reducing the pump price of the product to N125 per litre from N145 on the back of the sharp drop in crude oil prices. The price reduction lasted till June.
Nigerians saw increases in the pump prices of petrol in four months, rising from N121.50–N123.50 per litre in June to N140.80-N143.80 in July, N148-N150 in August, N158-N162 in September and N163-N170 in November.
Reacting to the minister’s statement, the TUC wondered why the government was always quick to announce increase in fuel pump prices but slow to implement agreements reached with the organized labour.
The TUC President, Quadri Olaleye, who stated this when asked to react to the minister’s statement, noted that there was nothing honourable about what the minister said.
The union leader stated, “The question is why is government always quick to tell us about the rise in the price of crude oil in the international market and the need to increase the price of PMS (Premium Motor Spirit) here but it always takes them weeks, if not months to implement agreements reached with the organised labour? It all points to one thing: they have no mercy on the poor people of this country.”
Olaleye noted that the carefree attitude of the government to the plight of workers and other Nigerians showed that they do not care.
He further argued that they also seemed unconcerned about the poverty, insecurity, and other social plaques their policies had caused.
The TUC leader added, “ In every move and statement by government officials, you could see and feel their care-free attitude and indifference to our plight.
“It appears they are not disturbed by the poverty-ridden plight of Nigerians and the unemployment/insecurity situation that their obnoxious policies have created in the country. There is nothing honourable about what the minister has said.”
Commenting on the minister’s statement, The Director-General of MAN, Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said the expected increase in revenue should benefit all through an all-inclusive economic growth, which should include massive job creation.
