- Describes World Bank as an enemy of the Nigerian nation
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Friday strongly condemned the World Bank’s recommendation to the Federal Government to increase the price of a litre of fuel from N600 to N750.
NLC in a statement said the call by the World Bank’s recommendation is a threat to Nigeria’s economy as a whole.
“We vehemently reject the recent advice by the World Bank urging the Nigerian government to increase petrol prices to N750 per litre,” the labour union said.
The World Bank’s lead economist for Nigeria, Alex Sienaert, corroborated this recommendation during a presentation in Abuja.
NLC president Joe Ajaero said Sienaert’s statement only reinforced the need for the federal government to abandon its commitment to the people and embrace policies that only serve the interests of foreign entities.
“It is an advise laden with mischief and intended to destabilize not only the nation’s economy but also Nigeria’s long term development plans,” Ajaero said.
“It further demonstrates to doubting Thomases that the Bretton Wood institutions who are the arrowheads of the neoliberal school is not pro-poor but is steeped in predatory policies that beggar the poor so that the rich will become richer.
“It is truly a shame that the World Bank has really shown itself to be an enemy of the Nigerian nation.”
NLC said the World Bank’s continued grandstanding and generation on anti-poor policies and programmes have destabilized many countries of the South, especially nations within the sub-Saharan region.
According to the labour body, the difficulties and suffering created by the last hike in the price of PMS which was a product of the advice of the World Bank and its sister institution; the IMF are still ravaging Nigeria.
It said the increase in the price of fuel due to the removal of subsidy is destroying in its wake the nation’s industrial base and domestic manufacturing capacity which favours Western metropoles.
NLC reminded the federal government that Nigeria should not allow foreign entities like the World Bank and the IMF to dictate economic policies that are detrimental to the welfare of its citizens.
The NLC stated that it stands firm in its conviction that foreign interventions, particularly those dictated by the World Bank and IMF, have a history of exacerbating economic disparities in third-world countries.
It also asserted that it is not only impractical but truly immoral for the World bank to persistently advocate for policies that endanger the lives and livelihoods of citizens, imperiling the nation.
NLC stressed that it is crucial for the Nigerian government to prioritize the welfare of its people over external pressures.
The labour union called on the government to resist the temptation to implement policies that cater to the interests of international bodies, even at the expense of the well-being of its citizens.
“The World Bank is Globalist North in thoughts and actions and has little or no consideration for the Global South,” Ajaero said.
“It is a predatory institution which the Global North uses to justify its crimes against the South.
“It is almost single-handedly responsible for the ruination of the economies of countries of the global South for which it prescribes one fit solution for all their ailments.”