The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has advised the federal government to give a special foreign exchange (FX) rate to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd to crash the price of petrol.
TUC president, Festus Osifo, made this known when he was featured as a guest on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ programme on Monday.
On September 3, the NNPC increased the price of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, across its retail outlets to above N850.
Earlier, the state-owned firm had admitted to its inability to sustain petrol supply due to a $6 billion debt it owes suppliers.
Osifo, who is also the president of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), averred in the interview that the hike is fuelled by the naira devaluation.
He said NNPC Ltd should be granted a special forex rate of about N1,000 per dollar instead of the N1,600/$ official rate, a development he said will make the cost of petrol importation by the state-run company crash and fuel prices will drop from the current pump price of over N900 to N600, depending on the part of the country.
“If you give a special rate to NNPC, you don’t need to pay for subsidy anymore. The same special rate that was given to Dangote (refinery) to sell, a special rate was given,” he said.
“Before now, we have had our Customs giving special rates. So, that special rate should be given in that sector. With the sale of crude to Dangote in naira, and you decide that crude you are selling to Dangote in naira, the exchange rate will be N1,000 to a dollar. If you do that, all marketers can go to Dangote and sell at a reduced rate compared to what is practicable today. It is about the exchange rate and that is what we have propounded over time,” he stated.
Osifo also said that if the government does not take immediate action, “the effect of the fresh hike in petrol prices will reverberate across the length and breadth of Nigeria”.
When asked if the union would hit the streets to protest over the hike, Osifo said the union would meet to decide their next line of action.
