Nigerians woke up to a fuel price hike on Wednesday, which has since been condemned by the Nigeria Labour Congress and other opinion groups in the country with Trade Union Congress (TUC) demanding the reduction of petrol prices to below the June 2023 levels.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, TUC National President, Festus Osifo, called on the President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government to address the petrol pricing crisis by providing foreign exchange support to the Dangote Refinery.
Osifo, while expressing the TUC’s stance, said, “We want the price of the product to go below what it was before; not just reverse to what it was before but to go below.”
He emphasised that the solution proposed by the union, if implemented, would return prices to what they were in June last year.
“There is no government in the world that doesn’t intervene in its critical sector,” he added, urging the Nigerian government not to leave the oil sector to “the vagaries and gyration of our naira.”
Osifo highlighted the need for the availability, affordability, and accessibility of petrol for all Nigerians, stressing that the commodity is essential for every household, even those without cars.
He further pressed the government to allow all marketers to lift petrol from the Dangote Refinery.
“We want the Federal Government to, through Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority give all marketers licenses to lift petrol from the Dangote Refinery,” he said.
The TUC also addressed concerns over supply shortages, suggesting the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) source petrol from other places if the Dangote Refinery cannot meet current demands.
“If, for example, the production from Dangote Refinery is less than 15 million litres per day, it is not sufficient,” Osifo stated.
He added that efforts to ramp up production at the refinery should continue, while other sources are explored to meet immediate needs, ensuring sufficient supply across the country.