The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has described the ongoing fuel scarcity in the country as an act of cruelty and sabotage from which a few privileged people were benefiting.
The NLC president, Ayuba Wabba, in condemning the prevailing scarcity of petroleum products across the country, said it has led to avoidable pain and suffering.
He noted that though diverse reasons have been given for the scarcity, no reason was good enough for the present wave of suffering inflicted on the citizenry through scarcity of petroleum products.
“The timing of this artificial scarcity is not lost on us as it is intended to maximise pain and profit, since it is a well-known fact that the Christmas season witnesses the biggest movement of people, goods and services,” he said.
He added that organised labour also considered the present scarcity as an insult to the collective pride of all good Nigerians as the citizens ought not to be operating at this philistine level.
He said, “More than ever before, we should get right the business of petroleum products, from the upstream to the downstream.
“We have made the point that we have no business importing petroleum products after 60 years of discovering in commercial quantity crude oil in our shores.”
The NLC president urged government to urgently fix the problem within the next few days, irrespective of what it takes to lessen the burdens on the people.