By Cross Udo, Abuja
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on Tuesday pressed the federal government to sustain food import policies, fast-track state police, and accelerate a commercial restructuring of refineries, while pledging full support for striking aviation and hotel workers.
TUC also urged the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to take decisive measures to strengthen the naira, with the exchange rate between ₦900 and ₦1,000 to the United States dollar.
It argued that a stronger currency would translate into lower food and commodity prices and provide relief to Nigerian workers.
Briefing journalists on the state of the Nigerian economy, insecurity, food prices, and other issues affecting workers and the wider population, the TUC President, Comrade Festus Osifo, called on government to sustain this policy and address insecurity so that farmers could go back to farms.
“We are calling on government to sustain this policy and solve the state of insecurity so that our farmers could go back to farms.”
Osifo reiterated that emergency food importation remains necessary until domestic security allows farmers to return to the fields and restore supply.
“Only when the supply end has been solved can we stop food importation,” he said, warning against a return to the extreme price spikes of past years: “We don’t want a bag of rice to go back again to 100,000 or 120,000 naira.”
On macroeconomic policy, Osifo said national indicators have stabilised but warned that gains have not reached workers.
He pressed the government and the Central Bank to bring the naira closer to its purchasing-power value, arguing the currency remains undervalued and that a fair exchange rate would be in the region of 900–1,000 naira to the dollar.
Osifo noted that the naira had appreciated from about ₦1,700–₦1,800 to the dollar in early 2024 to around ₦1,380 currently.
“We still believe that our naira is still undervalued,” he said. “CBN has what it takes to manage the exchange rate to about 1,000 naira to a dollar.” He criticised weak consequential salary adjustments after devaluation, noting that workers’ pay has not kept pace with the higher cost of imported inputs and goods.
On security and state police, Osifo urged the administration and National Assembly to fast-track a state police bill despite electoral-year objections.
“How can we, because of less than 0.1% of the Nigerian population, allow 99.99% to suffer?” he asked. “The time to implement state police is now.”
Osifo also called on the government to invest in technology and equipment to tackle insecurity, insisting security must be treated with the urgency of a nation at war.
On labour disputes, the TUC threw its weight behind aviation workers, including ATSAN members, who are striking over alleged employer resistance to unionisation and non-remittance of a 5% ticket charge reportedly worth about 25 billion naira.
“From the ILO Convention to the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is our indelible right to unionise,” Osifo said. “We have endorsed what they are doing 100%, and we are giving them total support.”
He warned hotel owners who block union organising — singling out Abuja Continental Hotel — that “the time of talk, talk, talk is almost over” and promised the union would escalate action if employers remained obstinate.
On the energy sector, Osifo backed plans to reduce government equity in refineries without selling them outright, urging a model similar to NLNG’s 49% government, 51% private structure. “Selling it outright will not solve energy security,” he said, and urged that private investors with petrochemical experience be allowed to take majority positions to drive commercial efficiency.
The TUC commended the DSS for recent arrests of suspected bandits and terrorists and urged vigorous prosecution. “You send a signal to the bad guys when you get some of them arrested, you persecute them, and you commit them to either life in prison or, depending on the offence, a death sentence,” Osifo said.
He also welcomed recent military pay rises and called for comparable increases for all workers. “The best way of fighting the war is not just going alone. It’s also taking care of some of the economic needs,” he added.
TUC President commended Health Minister Professor Ali Pate for intervening to reopen factories and secure the release of detained workers in a dispute affecting its affiliate FOBTOB. “We commend him for acting swiftly,” Osifo said.
