FCT, Abuja – Festus Osifo, president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, said the naira-to-dollar exchange rate’s fluctuation is the cause of hikes in fuel price in Nigeria.
In an interview with Channels Television on Wednesday evening, January 1, 2025, monitored by Legit.ng, Osifo explained that.
He said:
“Nigerians, we were just championing, that the cost of PMS is quite high. Yes, it is true. And we said in that our document that what is responsible for even the cost of PMS to be where it is today, is actually the exchange rate.”
He continued:
“If this government, as at last year, if they actually wanted to manage the exchange rate, to solve N1,000 to a dollar, it could have been done.
“We championed this last year, but because what was giving the governors more money, what made the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocation to increase, is actually the proceed from the exchange rate, not majorly from the proceed of subsidy removal.“
Labour pushes for minimum wage increase in 2025
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Osifo said organised labour is pushing for an annual increase in the national minimum wage paid to workers in Nigeria.
Osifo explained that it is important that the minimum wage paid to workers reflects a rise in inflation every year. Also, the TUC boss stated that members of the organisation as well as their colleagues in the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have begun talks on the issue.