The Chairperson, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Akwa Ibom State Council, Comrade Sunny James and his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, have called on the federal government to establish modular refineries and petroleum depots in the state, which is an oil producing state in the country.
They stated this on Wednesday when they joined the national bodies in protesting against the fuel subsidy removal and its attendant hardship on Nigerians at the Government House, State House of Assembly, and major streets in Uyo, the state capital.
The protesting workers carried placards with inscriptions such as “Reverse Recent Hike in Petrol Price,” “CNG mass transit buses for workers,” “Resuscitate Refineries,” “Salary Award For Workers,” ‘Payment of Gratuity to Workers,” among others.
Speaking, TUC Chairman, Comrade Abang, harped on the importance of functional refineries to the economy and the need to release palliatives to micro, small, and medium enterprises to stimulate the economy, including salary increments, among others.
On his part, the NLC Chairperson, Comrade James, regretted that Akwa Ibom, being an oil producing state, lacked these facilities, which would have helped to bring down the price of petroleum products in the state.
The chairperson also observed that the Presidential Steering Committee lacks the political will to execute the palliative, stressing that Nigerians would not continue to be taken for granted.
Addressing the protesters and Governor Umo Eno, Comrade James said, “We are calling on the Federal Government to establish modular refineries and petrol depot in Akwa Ibom State. It is sad that an oil producing state like Akwa Ibom lacks these facilities, which would have helped to bring down the price of petroleum products.
“There is so much hunger in the land within the last 60 days of the government of His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Presidential Steering Committee lacks the political will to execute the palliative, Nigerians cannot continue to be taken for granted.”
Responding, Governor Umo Eno assured organised labour that his administration would immediately set up a palliative committee that would ensure the effective distribution of palliatives in the state.
Eno stated that the state government has received a circular of the federal government’s palliatives released to states, and appealed to the citizens to give the disbursement team ten days to begin distribution of the palliatives.
“We understand the pain that you are going through. But let me say this is a peaceful protest so far, and from the depth of my heart, I want to commend the leadership of organised labour for not allowing this protest to snowball to where people begin to destroy government property, or where criminals hijack your protest.
“We are saying to you, and indeed to every Akwaibomite, please give us 10 more days, let this committee sit, and then we will come out and announce clearly the things we are doing. We held a meeting with Innoson Motors, we are about to tidy up that meeting so that we can take delivery of buses for the workers.
“That will help us. We’ll find a way to deploy those buses. So, I want to say to you please be calm, you have made your point. We run an open government. Remember I told you to give me six months and I will start paying gratuities, I want to announce today that I have just released one billion naira to take care of the gratuity of primary school teachers,” he stated.
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