Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, has said that the removal of subsidy on fuel by the Federal Government was based on an agreement the government signed with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) under former President Olusegun Obasanjo to keep the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at N65 per litre only for one year.
Answering questions from reporters at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on Tuesday, shortly before he jetted out of the country the governor said, “A lot of people did not know that Labour signed an agreement with Obasanjo administration to keep the price of fuel of N65 for, at least, one year and thereafter, it should be reviewed.
“It has taken five years since that decision was signed with Labour and many people are also aware of the fluctuating price of dollars in addition to the fluctuating price of crude in the market.
“So, things are not really the same. Can you keep the price of a product the same for five years? There were so many issues. I really must applaud the decision of Labour to call off the strike so that we can sit down and begin to talk as we are talking now.
“This is what Nigerians need, we need to talk and look at the merits and demerits and also the issue of timing, which you brought out and see what we can do because the job of the government is to serve Nigerians and not to inflict pains on them. We want to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians”, he added.