Labour Leader Wants NNPC Unbundled

The President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) Mr Peter Esele, on Wednesday advocated unbundling of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as part of efforts at ending the problem of the nation’s oil and gas sector.

Esele told newsmen in Lagos that the corporation should be allowed to run as a business for the sector to improve.

“Fifty percent of Nigeria’s problem is solved if government unbundles NNPC. If you talk of gas to power, it is from NNPC. Power cannot be run with the current state of the NNPC.

“The government should unbundle NNPC because the corporation is difficult to understand, and until government unbundles NNPC to make it run like a business, the oil sector will continue to have problems,’’ Esele said.

He observed that the government must carry out a Value for Money (VFM) survey on every naira spent to realise the impact of the planned removal of subsidy on the people.

The labour leader noted that if the government deregulates without looking into the important issues affecting the nation, the economy would suffer.

Esele noted that various sectors of the economy, including the media and its workers, would be affected as a result of petroleum products subsidy removal.

“For instance, there is no way newspaper publishers will not increase their advert rates and cover prices of newspapers because of the cost of the newsprint that will also be increased because of the removal of the oil subsidy.

“The implication is that the opportunity for us to read papers will drop and that will increase the illiteracy level of the country,’’ he said.

Esele said it was sad that labour does not know how the government arrived at the calculation of intending to raise the pump price of petrol from N65 to N150, if subsidy should be removed.

He noted that majority of Nigerians might not be able to pay the expected N150 per litre for petrol when subsidy would have been removed.

“If you can pay N150 for petrol conveniently, it does not mean that every other person can do that. Government has to look at the economy from a composite perspective,” he said

The labour leader urged the government to have a rethink on the issue because it would worsen the living condition of the average Nigerian.