The Ayuba Wabba-led
faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened to ground
flight operations at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA),
Lagos from Thursday, if the Federal Government refuses to revert the
pump price of petrol to N87 per litre.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Adelegan Solomon, Vice-President, NLC, made this known while addressing protesters at the MMIA over the government’s removal of fuel subsidy.
Solomon, who is also the President of
the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical
and Recreational Services Employees (AUCPTRE), urged Nigerians to
unanimously reject the hike in fuel price.
According to him, the N145 per litre
announced by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA)
will further increase the suffering of ordinary Nigerians.
He noted that Air Traffic Controllers
(ATCs) were members of AUCPTRE, adding that arrangements have been
perfected to ground flight operations at the airport from Thursday.
“Today, few planes have taken-off and
landed on this airport but by tomorrow, no plane will land or take off.
It is operation occupy Lagos State,” Solomon said.
Also speaking, the President, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Dr. Nasir Fagge, said Nigerians must remain united against the ruling class.
“We are convinced that what is going on
now is a war of liberation. We in ASUU believe that any change that does
not lead to transformation is underdevelopment,” Fagge said.
NAN reports that flight operations were
hitch-free on Wednesday at both the international and domestic wings of
the airport, despite an early morning protest by the National Union of
Air Transport Employees (NUATE).
Employees of the Federal Airports
Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority
(NCAA) and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), also resumed
at their offices, as directed by the government.
Victoria Menta,
Commissioner of Police, Lagos Airport Police Command, who deployed
officers around strategic locations at the airport, later met with the
union members and enjoined them to be peaceful.
However, some travellers were left stranded for several hours, due to the traffic caused by the protesters.
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