Taiwo Popoola
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has said the devaluation of the naira, rather than the removal of the fuel subsidy, is responsible for prevailing high cost of petrol.
Festus Osifo,TUC President, made the submission while fielding questions on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.
Osifo argued that petrol would have been selling at around N350 per litre if the Naira had not been devalued, stressing that “the ultimate elephant in the room is devaluation”.
According to him, the current official exchange rate of N1,600/$ is unsustainable and has led to an increase in fuel prices.
Osifo, also the President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), pointed out that, despite recent increase in petrol pump price, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, is continuing to provide subsidies by absorbing the difference since the pump price is not market reflective.
The TUC President, therefore, called for the granting of a special exchange regime to the national oil company to enable it meet its mandate of providing national energy security.
He opined that the special rate would enable marketers to purchase petrol from Dangote Refinery at a reduced rate, leading to a decrease in fuel prices.
“If NNPCL is granted a special forex rate of about N1000/S, the cost of petrol importation will crash, and fuel prices will drop to around N600. per litre,” Osifo said.
