By Abdullahi M. Gulloma

This is coming on the heels of remarks by another trade union body, the Trade Union Congress (TUC), that it will mobilise its members to protest the recent hike in the prices of petroleum products.
One of the leaders of the trade unions who spoke to Daily Trust on condition of anonymity, said that the strike action was necessary in order to compel the federal government to revert to the old prices of the products.
He said that Nigerians will not accept any increase in the pump prices of petroleum products at this material time in view of the “abject poverty in the country.”
“Majority of Nigerians are living in abject poverty that has not been witnessed in the history of this country as an independent nation. It is callous for anybody to increase the prices of petroleum products because such increases will no doubt worsen the living conditions of the masses,” he said.
Also, a highly placed source in the NLC told Daily Trust yesterday in a telephone chat that the recent adjustments of the local price of petrol will not go unchallenged as according to him, the protest will make the government realise that it cannot take Nigerians for granted.
“I am saying without fear of contradiction that we will definitely challenge the recent increases because we have taken enough from this government as far as obnoxious policies are concerned. We voted this government to improve our well being not the other way round,” the source said.
The recent hike in the price of petroleum products has attracted condemnations from marketmen and women, trade unions, students, civil society groups, political parties, senators and members of the House of Representatives and indeed all segments of the Nigerian society.
Some commercial vehicle drivers and university students in Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti state and Zaria in Kaduna state have already commenced peaceful demonstrations to protest the increase.
The demonstrations according to labour experts, is just the beginning, especially in view of the incessant increases in the prices of crude oil in the international market. The price of crude oil is said to have notched a record of $70 per barrel.
With the persistent increase in the prices of crude oil at the international market, local marketers of the products, particularly the independent marketers, said in Abuja that the N65 per litre fixed by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), was not sustainable in view of the current market fundamentals.
The PPPRA is insisting however that petrol should not be sold above the stipulated N65 per litre. The executive secretary of the agency, Mr. Oluwole Oluleye, told newsmen that the PPPRA would ensure nationwide compliance with the N65 per litre, adding that hoarding of the products will not be tolerated.