Removal Of Fuel Subsidy’ll Be Disastrous – NURTW

In spite of the Federal Government’s insistence on removing oil subsidy next year, the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Rivers State says the insensitivity of the government to the cry of the people will be disastrous.

This is because the removal of the subsidy will compound the difficulties suffered by the poor that form the majority of Nigeria’s population.

Chairman of the Abali Park branch of the union, Chief Bethel Dappah while speaking in an interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt Friday told the Federal Government to rescind its decision to avoid throwing Nigerian into more hardship because as he puts it, it will affect many areas of the country’s activities and services.

“f the price of fuel increases, the prices of kerosene, diesel and gas as well as other commodities will rise, thereby bringing unbearable hardship to the people and the poor will bear the brunt,” he said.

According to him, if the price of fuel increases, transport fare will also be raised, especially if it is too high for transporters to bear, saying “if it is 20 per cent or 50 per cent, we too will follow the trend while prices of goods in the market will also increase.”

He noted that the situation will be worse if Nigerian workers are not paid the much talked about minimum wage of N18,000 coupled with the fact that many Nigerians are jobless and called on the government to withdraw the idea of increasing fuel price if it has the welfare of the people at heart.

Chief Dappah stressed the need for labour and other stakeholders to dialogue with the government and make the leaders see reason and have a foresight of what the people will encounter if the plan is carried out, pointing out that President Jonathan’s effort at maintaining the status quo in terms of fuel availability will be undermined by Nigerians.

Governor, according to him, should put the feature of their people and welfare in the picture and have a rethink before supporting the subsidy removal, adding that they were not voted into power to increase the sufferage of their people.

The NURTW chairman identified power as another critical levels must look into and advised Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi to reconsider his monorail project which he said, is capital intensive as the billions of naira so far sunk in it would have been better invested in the development of more town sin the state.

Shedie Okpara