BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

LAGOS – Organised labour, weekend, gave conditions to government before embarking on total removal of subsidy on petroleum products.

It said government must give a definite deadline to end importation of petroleum products into country and specific details on how the money realised from subsidy removal would be spent.

President-General of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, Mr. Peter Esele, said contrary to insinuations, labour was not averse to total deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry, but that government must meet certain conditions.

Esele, who is also the immediate past president of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria,  said some  of  conditions included the unbundling of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, expansion of refineries, socio-economic relief measures to assuage the impact of import-driven deregulation with affirmative enabling policy to stimulate local production and efficiency within a defined timeframe.