NLC may be forced to go on industrial action over fuel scarcity, says Aremu

The organised Labour might embark on industrial action to force the federal government to put an end to the persistent fuel crisis in the country, which has subjected millions of Nigerians to severe economic hardship, labour leader, Issa Aremu, has warned.

Aremu, a member of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said in Kaduna yesterday that the protracted fuel crisis was a reflection of “crisis of corporate governance in the petroleum sector,” pointing out that the federal government must end the scarcity with the shortest possible time.

According to him, the bane of downstream sector was “abysmal absence of accountability, transparency and openness in the administration of the petroleum resources of Nigeria,” adding that only the parliament can make a difference in “exposing the rot” in the sector.”

Aremu said the Senate leadership by urging relevant committee members to resume duty has shown that the legislature is truly “a
vent for public grievances and a useful organ of public opinion,” saying “legislators cannot be in recess when those who elected them are groaning in filling stations.”

The labour leader urged the lawmakers to demand for “consequences for the actions and inactions of petroleum sector operators in the
product shortage scam,” adding: “There is a deep-seated conflict of interest in the
downstream sector. Regulators are operators, regulators are importers, importers are products hoarders and regulators are also saboteurs.

“Definitely, we have a sector capture in our hands, Nigeria and Nigerians need liberation.”