As fuel scarcity bites harder across the country, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) on Wednesday said the current scarcity was deliberate to create different options such as privatization and promote the interests of the business community.
It accused the federal government of using the backdoor to create artificial scarcity in order to throw up options that fit into its planned privatization strategy, a move the NLC said was not in the best interest of Nigerians.
NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, in an exclusive interview with THISDAY explained that the on-going fuel scarcity is a big disappointment and shame to the government, and failure on its earlier promises.
Wabba said: “It is deliberate to create scarcity, the present situation has remained. This particular scarcity is deliberate; government has no taken a proactive action to stop scarcity, so it’s deliberate. They have not done enough to prevent this scarcity.”
He decried the untold hardship Nigerians are forced to undergo due to the shoddiness of government in petroleum products distribution, stressing that, until government approach the current scarcity with all seriousness, the situation will remain dire.
The NLC president also maintained that the continuous excuses by Minister of State for Petroleum; Dr Ibe Kachukwu on the scarcity amounted to disservice to the nation, considering that, Nigeria should not be found in such critical situation.
Wabba stated “it’s about people taking responsibility, if he cannot handle it, those things can be handled effectively. The excuses the minister is giving, I don’t think Nigerians can continue to bear such excuses,” he said.
THISDAY
