The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has weighed in on the ongoing dispute between the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and Dangote Petroleum Refinery, attributing the conflict to inconsistent government policies and deceptive actions.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, expressed his concerns to reporters at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal II, questioning the logic behind regulating Dangote’s sales, particularly since locally produced goods incur no landing costs.
According to Ajaero, there is absolutely no need for the current situation, as a deregulated economy is supposed to encourage competition and choices. Therefore, he queries the wisdom behind regulating sales by Dangote, especially when there are no landing cost impacts for goods manufactured within its own nation.
“Ajaero remarked that asking Dangote to sell at equality with imported goods is tantamount to fraud, considering that the former is produced locally and incurs no landing costs.”
He called on Nigerians to rise up against the contradictory laws after they have been deregulated as originally promised.
The NNPC-Dangote Refinery dispute has stoked fears about what the government’s policy on private sector operation means for the future of Nigeria’s oil refining industry.
