ABUJA, Nigeria — The Trade Union Congress, TUC, of Nigeria has called on the Federal Government to prioritize slashing the cost of governance as a means to save funds for addressing other pressing national issues.
Festus Osifo, the TUC President, on Friday, June 23, 2023, emphasized the need for the government to efficiently utilize the money saved from the removal of fuel subsidies to support the nation’s most vulnerable populations.
“The government has told us that they are going to save a massive amount of money when the subsidy is removed. So, part of this money should also go to taking care of Nigerians, especially the vulnerable,” Osifo said.
In addition, Osifo encouraged the government to be proactive and creative in exploring avenues for generating more revenue for the country.
“Crude oil is being sold in dollars (USD); when they were repatriating the money before now, the exchange rate was around N460 to a dollar. But today, it is going to be about N700, which means that there would be much more naira available to the government,” he noted.
He stressed that the government must be innovative, and actively work towards growing the nation’s revenue, recalling that the current administration had promised increased revenue generation and national growth during their election campaign.
Osifo remained optimistic that the labor union’s demands would not be disregarded by the Federal Government.
He acknowledged that while they might not achieve all their demands, they have a minimum set point that they expect to be met.
“If the cost of governance is reduced, they would be able to save some money from that and if they do all these other things we have said, we believe that funds will be available,” he added.
The TUC president also revealed that the labor union and the federal government would continue negotiations on June 26, 2023.
This call from TUC highlights the ongoing dialogue and tension between labor unions and the government over economic policies and governance costs, which have significant implications for the welfare of the Nigerian population.
