The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has called on the Federal Government to urgently reintroduce subsidy measures to cushion the impact of rising fuel prices on Nigerians, amid growing economic pressure and public discontent.
TUC President Festus Osifo made the call at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, citing the compounding effect of global oil market volatility and persistent naira depreciation on the purchasing power of Nigerian workers.
"Today, the cost of petrol is heading towards N2,000 per litre, depending on the part of the country that you are in. It has deeply affected the purchasing power of the salaries that we earn as Nigerian workers," Osifo said.
The TUC president attributed the surge in pump prices partly to geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which have disrupted global oil supply dynamics and driven international crude benchmarks higher. He also linked the rising cost of fuel to the sustained depreciation of the naira, noting that a weakening currency amplifies inflationary pressures and erodes the real incomes of workers.
To address the situation, Osifo proposed that the Federal Government deploy windfall revenue generated when crude oil prices exceed the 2024 budget benchmark of $64.85 per barrel into subsidising crude supplied to domestic refineries. He recommended that at least 60 per cent of such excess earnings, ordinarily distributed across the three tiers of government, be channelled to support the Dangote Refinery and other modular refineries operating in the country.
The TUC president argued that targeting the subsidy at the production stage, rather than at the pump, offers a structurally sounder approach that is harder to exploit.
"Let the government take that excess fund that was never budgeted for, take at least 60 per cent of it, and use it to subsidise the crude being supplied to Dangote Refinery. The same should be done for all modular refineries, where crude is supplied to them at that subsidised rate," he said.
"When you subsidise crude, itcan nott be abused because you are subsidising production directly. When that is done, we are going to see an immediate reduction in the price of petroleum products," Osifo added.
The TUC also urged the Federal Government to take deliberate steps to stabilise the naira, noting that exchange rate stability would significantly reduce the cost of imported energy and ease broader inflationary pressures across the economy.
The Congress said it would formally communicate its proposals to the Federal Government, including the Presidency, to ensure prompt implementation of measures to ease the economic burden on Nigerians.