N750/LITRE PROPOSAL: NLC LABELS WORLD BANK ENEMY OF NIGERIA

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The financial organisation asked the Federal Government to cease paying the petrol subsidy and increase the price of the fuel to N750 per litre, prompting the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to declare the World Bank an enemy of the nation.

“It is truly a shame that the World Bank has really shown itself to be an enemy of the Nigerian nation. Its continued grandstanding and generation of anti-poor policies and programmes have destabilized many countries of the South, especially nations within the sub-Saharan region,” Ajaero wrote in part in a statement on Thursday.

The union criticised the World Bank’s lead economist for Nigeria, Alex Sienaert, for supporting the unwarranted recommendation during a presentation in Abuja and rejected an increase in petrol prices to N750 per litre.

“We vehemently reject the recent advice by the World Bank urging the Nigerian government to increase petrol prices to N750 per litre,” he said.

“We remind the government that Nigeria should not allow foreign entities like the World Bank and the IMF to dictate economic policies that are detrimental to the welfare of its citizens. It is imperative that our leaders look inwards, tapping into the vast resources and human potential within our nation to address challenges and formulate policies that genuinely uplift the standard of living for all Nigerians.”

The Union asked the government to reject foreign interference in economic policies and prioritise the wellbeing of its residents, even as it accused the World Bank of pushing policies that put foreign interests ahead of the welfare of the Nigerian people.

“The difficulties and suffering created by the last hike in the price of PMS which was a product of the advice of the World Bank and its sister institution; the IMF is still ravaging the nation destroying in its wake the nation’s industrial base and domestic manufacturing capacity which favours Western metropoles,” the NLC chief added.

The NLC further urged the government to turn inward, utilising human potential and domestic resources to solve problems and raise everyone’s standard of living in Nigeria.

The workers union warned against additional hikes in PMS costs, citing the gap between worldwide prices and local salaries and characterising such a move as a “suicide pill” that would aggravate the country’s economic predicament.

Ajaero emphasised that the Federal Government’s top priorities should be combating corruption in the downstream petroleum sector, cutting the cost of governance, and revitalising indigenous refineries rather than following the World Bank’s suggestion.

The Union forewarned the World Bank to avoid Nigerian economic policies and permit the nation to carry out its plans that will benefit its people.