Buhari, Govs to discuss fuel pricing Thursday — Ngige

By Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

Minister of Labour and Employment Senator Chris Ngige has said President Muhammadu Buhari and  state governors will discuss the issue of fuel pricing on Thursday.

The Minister disclosed this on Sunday night after a bipartite meeting of the Federal Government and the Organised Labour at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Briefing journalists on their resolutions at the end of the meeting, the Minister said Organised Labour had investigated the report of the Technical Committee on Premium Motor Spirit Pricing (otherwise known as petrol) Framework as agreed at the last meeting and made their submissions alongside the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Ngige insisted the government had no money for fuel subsidy following the deregulation of the sector.

The Minister said: “The labour side saw that they were making some points and like I said, it is work in progress. Governors are going to discuss this on Thursday.

“They have discussed this at the National Economic Council and so, everybody is involved because we find ourselves in dire straits. There is no money for subsidy.

“The NNPC has explained: What they are doing is import- dependent. Deregulation is import-dependent but they are doing bulk purchasing. So, they can get discounts.

“They are also using foreign exchange that is discounted for them. They are not buying from the parallel market. So, all these things will be put in basket and a price will emerge from it.”

Ngige maintained the Federal Government has concluded discussions with the organised labour on the fuel pricing.

President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Ayuba Wabba, urged the NNPC to do “everything possible to make sure the current template serves Nigerians instead of the market forces.”

He noted that the welfare of Nigerians should be the centre point of every government policy.

The NLC president called on government to find a way of “protecting and insulating Nigerians from the vagaries of market forces.”(The Nation)