Workers and Poor Masses Must Resist Neoliberal Attacks and Capitalist Exploitation

The Movement for a Socialist Alternative (MSA) strongly condemns the recent 95 percent increase in the price of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) imposed by the Tinubu-led regime. This outrageous hike is yet another confirmation that the Nigerian ruling class is committed to a neoliberal, anti-poor agenda that throws the burden of economic crisis on the shoulders of workers, peasants, and the poor, while the corrupt elite continue to enrich themselves.

The recent increase by the Nigerian government is yet another reason why the masses must reject capitalism and the neoliberal policies imposed by the corrupt ruling elite. This policy does not serve the interests of ordinary people, but only worsens hardship and deepens inequality in society.

From the onset, the government adopted a divide-and-rule strategy against the working people to push through fuel price hikes. In 2023, the Tinubu regime increased the pump price of petrol from ₦197 to over ₦500 per litre, claiming that subsidy removal was necessary. To cushion the anger of Nigerians, the government began to promote CNG as a “cheaper alternative”. Thousands of motorists, desperate to cope with the unbearable cost of petrol, invested as much as ₦1.5 million to convert their vehicles to CNG, despite the fact that refilling stations remain grossly inadequate across the country.

Now, this so-called alternative has been exposed as another trap. The price of CNG, which was ₦230 per standard cubic meter, has been hiked to ₦450, and the government is already preparing the ground for further increases under the guise of removing subsidies. This betrayal reveals that the ruling class never had the interests of the working masses at heart. They have only shifted the burden of the economic crisis onto the shoulders of workers, peasants, and the poor.

The inevitable consequence of this CNG price hike is another round of inflation in transportation costs, food prices will rise, and millions of working-class families will be pushed deeper into poverty. At a time when Nigerians are still reeling from the economic shock of previous fuel and electricity hikes, the regime is shamelessly piling on more suffering.

We in the MSA call on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to rise to the occasion. They must mobilise mass resistance against this fresh assault on living standards, linking the fight against CNG price hikes to the broader struggle against neoliberal policies. This must include agitation for a substantial increase in the minimum wage, because the current wage has been rendered worthless by the escalating cost of living.

The fight against the CNG hike must not be seen as an isolated issue but as part of a wider battle against the anti-poor capitalist system that dominates Nigeria. The only way forward is for the labour movement, workers, students, and poor masses to unite in a mass struggle to demand a system based on democratic planning and workers’ control of resources, rather than one that sacrifices the majority for the luxury of a corrupt few.