Ajaero during an interview on Channels TV on Wednesday, said the Labour Congress had suggested that the country’s crude oil should be refined locally and sold to Nigerians cheaply.
President of the Nigeria Labour Congress Joe Ajaero has said there won’t be talks of subsidy if the Nigerian government had done some of the things suggested by the Labour congress.
Ajaero during an interview on Channels TV on Wednesday, said the Labour Congress had suggested that the country’s crude oil should be refined locally and sold to Nigerians cheaply.
He said, “Subsidy is a language of the government, Labour was not part of the issue called subsidy and it’s important for us to situate the word subsidy so that we don’t accuse Labour of saying ‘don’t remove subsidy’ if there’s anything like subsidy. If they did some of the things Labour suggested, they will not be talking of subsidy.
“Even if you remove subsidy, according to them, removal of subsidy has to do with price increase; that’s the interpretation they are giving it. They could not tell Nigerians that they are not into production. Any government that’s not into production is finished.
“Now, why are we running round subsidy? What we are going to use to buy a product that’s produced in this country, why are we not into production? Why are people not importing from Nigeria finished products? So I think the difference is that Labour is saying that this crude is produced in Nigeria, refine it cheap for Nigerians, make it accessible and affordable to all Nigerians here; that’s the language of Labour.
“And we are equally saying the CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) issue is still indigenous. The natural gas deposit in Nigeria can last for the next 500 years and they say we can convert our vehicles to CNG within three months and there will be no need for all these importation and subsidy.
“You don’t want to do it; you say subsidy is gone, you don’t care how it affects people and who are we even saving money for?”
Ajaero also said that the Nigerian government should be ashamed of itself because of its incompetence.
He said, “The word is incompetence if you produce crude, you sell it at N5 and buy finished product at N10; its incompetence. Such government should be ashamed of themselves; you sell it to somebody at N5, he refines it and sells back to you at N10, then you go and look for money to buy it at N10; that difference of N5 is what we are calling subsidy.
“Why can’t you refine in your country? That’s the weakness we must all establish here. Let them come out openly and tell Nigerians that the difference in what they are selling the crude and what they are buying the finished product. Where has production gone? Call the people that should have worked in such sectors, even the by-products are gone. Nigerians are unemployed and you are talking of subsidy. Who is asking them to pay subsidy if you can refine here? Where does subsidy come in? Why did they kill all the refineries in Nigeria?”