- helping local refineries access cheaper crude would make it possible for them to refine and sell petrol
- The labour leader argued that Nigeria currently earns more from crude oil exports than projected in the national budget
- government must explore practical and innovative ways to reduce the economic burden on citizens
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria has urged the Federal Government to consider introducing support measures for local refineries, including the Dangote Refinery, to help bring down the rising price of petrol nationwide.
Speaking on Politics Today on Friday, Eko Hot Blog gathered TUC President Festus Osifo said the union was proposing a “production subsidy” as an alternative to the fuel subsidy system scrapped by the Federal Government.
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Osifo explained that the proposal would involve using part of Nigeria’s excess earnings from crude oil sales to support domestic refineries by reducing the cost of crude supplied to them.
According to him, helping local refineries access cheaper crude would make it possible for them to refine and sell petrol at more affordable rates for Nigerians.
He noted that the union was not calling for a return to the former subsidy regime on fuel consumption, but rather a targeted intervention aimed at lowering production costs within the refining sector.
The labour leader argued that Nigeria currently earns more from crude oil exports than projected in the national budget and could channel part of the surplus into supporting local fuel production.
Petrol prices have risen sharply across the country in recent weeks, with pump prices moving from about ₦800 per litre to over ₦1,300 in some locations, partly due to tensions in the global oil market triggered by the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
Despite public pressure over the rising cost of fuel, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has repeatedly stated that it will not restore fuel subsidies removed in 2023.
Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, recently reaffirmed the government’s position during an event in Paris, insisting that subsidy payments and price controls would negatively affect economic reforms.
Osifo, however, maintained that government must explore practical and innovative ways to reduce the economic burden on citizens struggling with increasing living expenses.
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