The Movement for a Socialist Alternative (MSA) has urged Nigerian workers to demand the rehabilitation and full operation of government-owned refineries as part of efforts to address the rising cost of petrol and worsening living conditions.
The group, in a statement signed by its General Secretary, A.J. Dagga Tolar, obtained by Third Lens on Friday, said the recent increase in petrol prices had further compounded the economic hardship facing workers and other Nigerians.
The organisation expressed worry that the price of petrol increased from ₦1,165 to ₦1,400 within three weeks, representing an increase of approximately 20 per cent.
“This should be unacceptable in a leading oil-producing country in the world,” the group said, arguing that the increase would further worsen conditions for millions of Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty.
The MSA also criticised what it described as the government’s continued reliance on neoliberal economic policies, saying workers were bearing the consequences of rising prices of food, transportation, electricity and other essential commodities.
The group said fluctuations in international crude oil prices had been used to justify domestic petrol price increases, but argued that consumers did not benefit when crude prices declined.
The statement said, “But when the price of crude oil drops, as witnessed in June when it fell to $80 a barrel, the price of petrol never dropped.”
The MSA called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to move beyond issuing statements and mobilise workers and other sections of the population against the rising cost of living.
“The labour unions must demand an affordable cost of petrol that reflects the real value of the minimum wage, such that workers can afford their basic needs and survive,” the group said.
It further noted that petrol prices had risen from ₦197 to ₦1,400 in three years under the current administration, describing the increase as more than 600 per cent.
The MSA said the impact of higher petrol prices extended beyond transportation, affecting the cost of food, education, healthcare and other basic needs.
It urged labour unions to demand “the immediate rehabilitation and full functioning of all government-owned refineries to ensure the local refining of crude oil and the provision of affordable petrol for the working masses.”
Other demands listed by the group include an end to rising energy costs, a living wage for workers, democratic workers’ control and accountability over the country’s oil resources, and an end to policies that place the burden of economic adjustment on working people.
The MSA said, “The working masses cannot continue to pay for the crisis of capitalism,” while urging the NLC and TUC to take the lead in organising resistance to rising living costs.
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