From Paul Osuyi, Asaba
A former labour leader and ex-secretary general of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Frank Kokori has said the removal of subsidy from petroleum products was long overdue.
Kokori contended that subsidy payment by the Federal Government over the years has ruined the country.
He also faulted the organised labour in the country for initially declare strike action, noting that the present labour leaders did not give the government enough notice.
“I was telling the labour movement that they should go back and negotiate immediately because there is nowhere in the world where you give the authorities three days working days notice for a national strike.
“They were supposed to to give at least, 14 days notice and with that the government will call you for negotiation,” he said.
Kokori said Nigeria is now broke as a result of subsidy payment, insisting that few individuals were feeding fat from the system.
“They are the cartel and they have properties all over the world, private jets, everything and you are subsidizing fuel for the whole of West Africa, up to Sudan and Central Africa,” he said.
Saying that the N500 per litre was the cheapest pump price in Africa, he noted that: “there is no country in Africa that does not sell fuel for up to one dollar per litre. They have killed Nigeria with subsidy. What did we gain from it?
“Nigeria is owing the entire world and we are servicing loans with all the money that we have, so we are broke, we don’t even have money to subsidize fuel; there is no money.
“We all know that Nigeria has been bleeding due to bad government. We are not supposed to be suffering like this; everybody is suffering.”
