By Michael Oche
Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has asked the federal government to expedite action on the completion of Warri and Kaduna refineries to eliminate monopoly in the oil and gas sector.
TUC President, Comrade Festus Osifo made the call on Tuesday in Abuja while briefing journalists at the end of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Congress.
Osifo who spoke in reaction to the revitalization of the Port Harcourt refinery, by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) said there was need to grow competition in the sector which already has Dangote refinery.
He said, “But beyond the old Port Harcourt Refinery, we want the government to also revisit or to expedite work in the other refineries. Warri refinery, Kaduna refinery, and the new PH Refineries, those four refineries combined are holding close to 400,000 barrels of crude production per day. So we call on the government to expedite action on all these refineries. Because it will eliminate monopoly and it will bring a system of competition into the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry.”
Osifo also referenced the recent GDP report for the third quarter, noting that while the economy is growing, the service sector, especially banking, played a dominant role in that growth.
He, however, expressed concerns that this has not translated to more jobs for Nigerians, as the manufacturing, agricultural and construction sectors contributed poorly to the GDP. He called on the government to focus on encouraging investment in other key sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, and real estate, which he argued could create more jobs and reduce unemployment.
He said, “Sometime yesterday, the GDP result came in for the quarter that just ended. Yes, while we are quite happy that the economy is growing, but when you disaggregate that GDP figure, you could see that the service sector contributed over 50% to the growth of that GDP. And the banking sector contributed the highest in the service sector.
“We love that. That is quite good. But we want a situation whereby the agricultural sector, the manufacturing sector, the real estate sector, and the construction sector will begin to contribute much more to the GDP.
“Government should encourage these banks to lend much more to the real sector of the economy. Because it is that sector that hires a lot of Nigerians that will hire a lot of workers. Because we want Nigerians to be engaged.”
Osifo, also warned that its members in states that have failed to implement the new minimum wage and its consequential adjustments could withdraw their services indefinitely.
He noted that while some states have made progress, with up to 80% of the necessary adjustment processes already in place, others remain significantly behind.
He specifically called out Zamfara and Cross River states for their lack of action, noting that workers in Cross River are already engaged in a two-day warning strike and that if the state government does not respond, the strike could escalate to an indefinite action.