Do not Increase Fuel Price, Improve Economy – TUC Tells FG

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on Tuesday said that instead of planning to increase the pump price of fuel, the Federal Government should improve people’s living conditions.

The TUC President, Bobboi Kaigama and its Acting General-Secretary, Simeso Amachree, in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos, vowed to resist any form of fuel increase above N145.

“The economy is already on its knees. We suggest that the government should reduce the cost of governance and create a more friendly business environment and jobs. The economy must be diversified. Government should set up an economic team that will create modalities of finding the way out of recession,” the TUC said.

It said that government should not consider any increase in pump price of fuel, because the call for review of minimum wage for workers had not been harkened to.

“Federal government had yet to fulfill its promises and agreement with the organised labour during the May protest against hike in fuel price,” it said.

The TUC said that life had become difficult for Nigerians and the current minimum wage could no longer cater for many families.

It urged government to enhance local production, build more refineries and maintain stability of foreign exchange for the economy to improve.

TUC also advised the government to fulfill its promise based on which it inaugurated a joint government-labour committee to determine the new economically realistic national minimum wage.

Petroleum marketers had recently called for the increase in pump price of the product.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, said on Monday that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had no plan to increase the pump price of fuel.