Labour wants referendum on deregulation – The Guardian
October 30, 2009 by Bunmi Awolusi
The last lap of the nationwide protest rallies by Labour and civil society groups held in Abuja yesterday with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Abdulwaheed Omar, calling on the Federal Government to subject the deregulation policy to a national referendum to test its popularity among Nigerians.
The rally, which started at the popular Berger Junction, terminated at the National Assembly complex where Omar delivered a letter to the representatives of the two chambers of the National Assembly.
Omar told the gathering that government must ensure the implementation of the proposed minimum wage pegged at N52,200 and ensure that the Justice Uwais Electoral Committee Report is passed by the National Assembly unadulterated.
Labour, he said, was opposed to the deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil industry because it would only bring further hardship to the already pauperised masses, as the indications were that the pump price of petrol would jump to N104 per litre.
