… Asks NLC, TUC to declare 48hrs strike, street protest
The Joint Action Front (JAF), Oyo state chapter Wednesday demanded immediate reversal of the recent hikes in pump price of petrol, electricity tariff, describing it as “wicked and anti-people”.
JAF at a press conference in Ibadan, through the Oyo state Chairman of the Front, Comrade Ademola Aremu, asked the federal government to reverse the hike and the increment to the pre 2016 prices.
Comrade Aremu stressed that the hike and increment clearly showed that the present administration of President Buhari ‘is extremely insensitive to the pain and agony working people are going through at this present time”.
“JAF demands total reversal of the hike in the price of petrol, electricity tariff and VAT at least to the pre 2016 prices. This means for instance that the pump price of petrol should be reversed to #87 per litre. Repair of all the old public refineries and build new ones under a democratic control and management of the working people “
The group also demands “an end to various neoliberal policies like Deregulation, privatisation while the oil and power sector must be re-nationalised under a democratic control of the working people,” and that the leadership of trade union centre, NLC and TUC must declare a 48hours nationwide strike and street protest to resist the hikes and demand a total reversal as well as an end to neoliberal policies.”
Comrade Aremu added, ” to achieve this requires the general public to be sensitised on: reasons to organise a fight back; demands to be advanced in the course of it and; roles to be played by individuals to build mass support for the demands towards ensuring their actualisation. Hence, the focus of this press conference” .
Commenting on the need to resist the hike in fuel price and increment in the electricity tariff, he maintained that this was to ” prevent worsen living conditions”, saying, ” it will be recalled that before the barrage of these attacks, the practical realities for the mass of the working people across the country is that the cost of living including prices of food items and transportation had become so unbearable owing to economic dislocation occasioned by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic’.
According to the JAF Chairman, “for instance, a bag of rice that used to be #26,000 two weeks ago is now #36,000. The exchange rate of Naira has been subjected to technical devaluation at different times in the last six months while different taxes had also been imposed on the working people within the same period”.
“Given this situation, especially when mass of the working class is currently suffering different economic consequences of the pandemic ranging from job loss, slash in salary to nonpayment of salary, the new increase in fuel price and electricity tariff will no doubt worsen the living condition. The meagre income earned by the working people will further shrink as the masses will be made to pay more for basic social utilities should we fail to organise to defeat this onslaught”.
