The government has also ended fuel subsidies that kept petrol prices artificially low -- but inflation has rocketed
IBTimes NG

The Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) has expressed anger at the federal government's decision to increase petrol prices at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) fuel stations, calling the situation "traumatic and nightmarish."

NNPC's petrol stations across Nigeria have raised the petrol price from around N600 to about N897 per liter. There has been no official explanation for the increase, but the state-owned oil company recently stated that it could no longer afford to keep petrol prices at their previous price.

Reacting to the move, NLC President Joe Ajaero said that one reason for accepting the national minimum wage of N70,000 was the promise that petrol prices would not rise, despite knowing that the wage was insufficient.

During negotiations for the minimum wage, President Bola Tinubu gave two options to the NLC, "either N250,000 as minimum wage (subject to the rise of pump price between N1,500 and N2,000) and N70,000 (at old PMS rate)," as per Ajaero, Premium Times reported.

"Here we are, barely one month later, with the government yet to commence payment of the new minimum wage, confronted by a reality we cannot explain," the NLC president said.

The NLC president also criticized the government's handling of the fuel subsidy issue, saying the labor movement had predicted the problems, but was dismissed by the officials, who claimed they didn't understand basic economics.

He connected the fuel price increase to a pattern of broken promises by the government, pointing to similar unfulfilled commitments about electricity tariff hikes.

Ajaero condemned the government's overall economic policies, which he said had caused widespread suffering and led to protests like the End-Hunger/End Bad Governance demonstrations.

"The clandestine increase in the pump price of petrol is the first among equally sinister policies the government has up its sleeve," he said, demanding immediate reversal of the fuel price increase.

The NLC called for the release of everyone arrested during recent protests, and urged the government to stop the widespread detention of Nigerians. He also demanded an end to policies that lead to hunger and insecurity, as well as a halt to electricity tariff increases.

Last month, Tinubu urged the demonstrators to end the "bloodshed," and "create room for dialogue," as Nigeria's planned protests against economic hardship and bad governance.