The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, in a statement released on Sunday cautioned Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan to stop members of his administration who are “engaged in renewed campaigns to further increase the price of fuel”, adding that they only seek to create an avoidable labour and political rift.

According to the statement, “moves by functionaries of the government” are attempting to “create avoidable labour and political crises in the country by seeking to break up the congress and impose a new regime of fuel price hikes”.

The NLC, who spearheaded a crippling nationwide strike in January in protest to the removal of fuel subsidy and increase in fuel prices, said in a statement “these hawks in government who see the NLC as being too powerful and capable of checkmating undemocratic and unpatriotic moves by the political class, have come to the comclusion that the best way out is to engineer internal ‘disagreement’ in the NLC”.

The NLC claims these nefarious agents in government are “also responsible for the anti-labour bill currently before the National Assembly,” adding that they underestimate the power of the NLC to mobilise the masses.

The union called on Jonathan to put a stop to these government officials.

“The continuous waste of public funds on media campaigns, the enticement of youths and so called Town Hall meetings is a criminal enterprise, and such funds need to be put to better public use.”

In the statement signed by the NLC’s acting General Secretary, Owei Lakemfa, Labour warned the Presidency against stirring controversy, saying that with the nation’s current security challenges, Nigeria could not afford to try breaking up the NLC or increasing fuel prices.

“These are unnecessary battles which the government cannot win.”