ORGANISED Labour Unions in Nigeria have expressed dismay at the federal and state government's depletion of the Excess Crude Account and warned that it would not accept any cut on salaries because of dwindling resources.The workers under the aegis of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) blamed the development on the unbridled corruption in the polity.They alleged that through the action the government was setting the stage for another debate to sway argument in favour of fuel subsidy removal.In a statement issued by NLC through its Acting President, Joe Ajaero, the workers insisted that removing fuel subsidy would deepen the already entrenched poverty in the country.NLC's statement was prompted by the comments of the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala that the excess crude funds had been depleted to $3.6 billion and that Nigerians should brace for hard times, especially if the prices of crude oil were to take a dip.The Congress also based its action on the statement by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi that a reduction in the price of crude oil ''would lead to a massive depreciation of the currency, a collapse in the reserves and a huge growth in deficits.'Labour added by the pronouncements of the officials, NLC said the stage might have been set to justify the non-payment of salaries by some state governments.Ajaero said the depletion of the nation's funds was not meant to better the lot of the ordinary Nigerians people because they were looted by public officials.He said: 'For instance, while the Presidency proclaimed that the country spent N1.3 trillion on fuel subsidy in 2011, the CBN governor under oath in the House of Representatives gave the subsidy paid for the same period as being over N1.7 trillion while the actual money spent was over N2.3 trillion. Also, the Presidency said the country's daily petrol consumption is 34 million litres. The Pipeline Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) said it was paying subsidy for over 59 million litres daily while independent sources during the House of Representatives' probe revealed that the country's consumption is far below the Presidency's claims.'Besides, the Ministers of Finance and Petroleum Resources admitted under oath that contrary to the constitutional stipulation that all monies accruing to the country should be paid into the Federation Account, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was helping itself to the funds before paying the balance to the federation,' he said.The NLC also faulted the process through which the country's oil earnings in dollars are converted to naira before sharing by the various arms of government lacks transparency.Labour, therefore, warned that it would no longer accept that Nigerians should continue to be impoverished by the lack of vision and planning by their leaders, adding that, 'the people have been made to suffer for too long due to the profligacy of our rulers, and the Congress will reject additional suffering being heaped on them.'It added that Nigerian workers would not accept cuts in salaries or the reversal of the N18,000 minimum wage even in the face of dwindling state finances.'The federal and state governments have the responsibility to pay wages as and when due without any cut. If these were to occur, Labour and its allies would have no choice but to resist.'The Congress also advises the President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan administration to stop toying with the lives of Nigerians by seeking to further increase the price of fuel as evident by its endless and wasteful campaigns to remove the so called 'fuel subsidy.
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