….Seeks consequential wage adjusment
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has urgedthe federal government to subsidize crude oil for the Dangote Refinery to alleviate rising fuel costs affecting citizens across the nation.
TUC President, Festus Osifo, made the call at a press conference to address the pressing issues facing the country, in Abuja on Thursday.
Osifo attributed the recent increase in pump prices for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), to the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector, noting that while the government declared an end to fuel subsidies in May 2023, the subsequent fluctuations in the exchange rate have led to renewed subsidy-like conditions.
He lameneted that the current pump price is significantly higher than before the subsidy was lifted.
To ensure energy security in Nigeria, the labour leader outlined three critical demands: improved accessibility, enhanced availability, and greater affordability of fuel.
Osifo proposed a special intervention scheme to stabilize fuel prices by providing a favorable exchange rate for crude sold to Dangote.
The union President also called for all marketers to be granted access to products from Dangote Refinery, urging the government to clarify the refinery’s production capacity and expedite necessary approvals to increase output.
“We must be able to buy this product. We want the price of the product to go even below where it was before. Not just where it was before. But, it will go below, if we attend clearly to the issues that are bordering on FX.
“Some of you may ask, why FX again? Government said they are selling crude to Dangote Refinery with our local currency, Naira. But you know, crude is an international products. So it is actually priced in USD.
“So what you now do is that you have to convert the value from the USD to the local currency. So the question is that, what is the exchange rate you are using to do that conversion? Is it a NAFEM exchange rate? Because something must be used to convert. So if that exchange rate today, as we know, is NAFEM exchange rate, that is bordering around 1,600 Naira plus.
“But government can intervene in that sector by what we have opined earlier. If that is done, in that case, you are not subsidizing even consumption. You are subsidizing production.
“That will even help Dangote Refinery to even employ more Nigerians and make its operations much more efficient. And that will crash the PMS price to where it was as of June last year,” he stated.
Additionally, Osifo emphasised the importance of consequential adjustments to wages, following a national agreement on the new minimum wage.
He urged state governments to promptly implement these adjustments to help ease the financial burden on workers amid ongoing economic challenges.
Daily Sun