The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) accused the Dangote Group and oil marketers of unfairly increasing petrol prices across the country, potentially exploiting Nigerians during challenging economic times.
The accusation followed an official statement released after a meeting of the NLC’s National Executive Council (NEC) held on Friday.
According to the NLC, petrol prices in Nigeria, ranging between N1,060 and N1,200 per liter, are significantly higher than what it believes to be a fair market rate.
The Union suggests that this inflated pricing is likely due to hidden costs and abnormal profit margins added by key players in the oil industry, which in turn heavily impacts the Nigerian public.
The statement reads; “The NEC-in-session noted with increasing dismay the shenanigans around the appropriate pricing of petrol (PMS) in Nigeria.
“It was observed that there may be a gang-up against Nigerians by fat cats in the industry as the current price of the product is significantly higher than the real market price.
“Padding of costs and abnormal margins seems to be the order of the day considering the revelations from the ongoing controversy between Marketers and Dangote Group.
“It is entirely possible that Nigerian workers and masses are being ripped off by those who control the levers of economic power in Nigeria, which explains why the domestic public refineries may not immediately be allowed to come on stream.
“NLC demands appropriate pricing of petrol and calls for the public domestic refineries in PH, Warri, and Kaduna to quickly come back on stream to break up the monopolistic stranglehold the big players have on the industry,” NLC stated.
