As the scarcity of petrol lingers across Nigeria, a factional Deputy President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Issa Aremu, says workers may be forced to stay at home ‘if government fails to address the problem as soon as possible’.
In a statement he issued on Sunday in Kaduna, Mr Aremu explained that the perennial petrol scarcity in the country and the failure of the government to address the problem, amounted to a declaration of war against the citizens by a combined forces of the ruling elite and business class.
The NLC leader maintained that since the public servants were the worst hit by the situation, they would have no other option than to stay at home until the situation improved.
He, however, called on Nigerians to rise up and demand for explanations from the relevant government authorities on why a nation richly blessed with crude oil, would be experiencing scarcity of petrol all the time, with no cogent explanation by the government.
The scarcity of the product had persisted for over three months, triggered by a feud between the government and oil marketers over unpaid subsidy.
Oil Marketers are insisting that the 200 billion Naira that the government owed them should be paid before they would make the product available.
Critics say it is difficult for the labour union to champion an industrial action at this time, with the unresolved leadership tussle within the union.