A violent protest will be triggered should the government increase fuel price as it did early in the year, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Abdulwaheed Omar has said.
But Omar said he did not see the government hiking the fuel price because it understands the hardship Nigerians are going through.
Government would have spent over N1 trillion at the end of this year, to subsidise petrol, which it says it could no longer afford.
Omar, speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, said already the masses were facing a lot of hardship, adding that the government would not want to add to their suffering.
“Generally, Nigerians should expect a good year in 2013. We don’t expect sudden surprises from the government like we had early this year.
“I don’t think government will be disposed to doing that because if you look at it, the hardship Nigerians are enduring now is slightly higher than what they were enduring at the end of last year.
“So, I think it will be unthinkable for government to want to compound the problems of the common man.
“So, let us hope that 2013 is going to come with good hopes and with a lot of prospects for everybody in this country.’’
The union president said Nigerians should not expect anything from the NLC, but should hope on many good things from the government.
Omar urged the government not to sack any worker, saying that it would not solve Nigeria’s economic problems.
He advised the government to tackle the unemployment problem in 2013, saying that it would be a major yardstick for measuring the country’s development.