TUC asks FG to maintain payment of subsidy on petrol

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has asked the federal government to maintain payment on subsidies on premium motor spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol.

On Monday, President Bola Tinubu, in his inauguration speech, said the subsidy regime was over, noting that it was only provided for in the 2023 appropriation act for six months.

The president’s pronouncement sparked panic-buying of petrol by Nigerians across the country.

During an interview on Thursday, Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, said the federal government has not funded the petrol subsidies for 2022 and 2023, despite budgetary provisions.

Speaking with reporters after an emergency national executive council (NEC) of TUC in Abuja on Friday, Festus Osifo, TUC president, said the council agreed to talk with the government to find solutions around the issue.

“Having noted this, we wish to state that the NEC-in- session resolved that discussions with the federal government should continue while demanding that the government revert to status quo ante,” NAN quoted him as saying.

“The status quo ante should be maintained while discussions continue as we had a meeting with the government on Wednesday.

“During that discussion, they gave us a list of all the things they would do and they also demanded to know our thinking and what we are putting up.

“We told them the lists of the things we want to put forward, we will not submit them now but put them forward to our organs, to discuss and seek a mandate from them of the things we can put forward.

“We will wait till Sunday when we will meet with the representatives of the government.

“Once we are done with that meeting then the TUC is going to put its demands forward, it is how they react to those demands [that] will determine our next line of action.”