The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to grant the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) a special foreign exchange rate to reduce fuel costs.
According to the TUC, if NNPCL were given a special rate of around ₦1,000/$ instead of the official ₦1,600/$, the cost of petrol importation would decrease, bringing pump prices down from over ₦900 to around ₦600.
TUC President Festus Osifo, also the head of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), said the real issue is not the removal of the fuel subsidy in May 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, but the devaluation of the naira. He argued that without devaluation, petrol prices would be closer to ₦350 per liter.
Osifo further stated that NNPCL continues to shoulder the subsidy burden despite the recent price adjustments. He called for the same special exchange rate given to Dangote Refinery to be extended to NNPCL, which would eliminate the need for subsidies altogether.
Warning of the broader economic consequences, Osifo said that without immediate government action, rising fuel prices could lead to widespread job losses and company closures, as predicted by industry groups such as NACCIMA, LCCI, and NECA.
The TUC plans to convene and determine a course of action if fuel prices are not reduced to around ₦600.
