Precision, Electrical and Related Equipment Senior Staff Association (PERESSA), an affiliate of Trade Union Congress(TUC), on Friday urged the President Bola Tinubu led administration to abrogate plans of imposing a 5 per cent fuel tax on petrol, diesel, and other fossil fuels from January 1, 2026 or anytime, as contained in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025.
The union equally called on FG and state governments for an upward review of the N77,000 minimum wage to workers to the sum of over N150,000, insisting that the current wage could no longer sustain them especially in the face of current economic hardship and skyrocketing inflation occasioned by fuel subsidy removal and devaluation of Naira.
PERESSA’s President, Com. Rufus Olusesan, who disclosed at the Ist Quadrennial And 9th National Delegates Conference, held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ) Secretariat, Iwe-iroyin, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, described the tax imposing on the fuels as reckless and anti-people policies formulated to for workers to endure slave wages and economic strangulation.
He spoke in company of the Deputy General Secretary of Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) Com. Ismail Bello, the union’s National Secretary, Com. Dele Ojo, Chairman of TUC in Ogun, Com. Akeem Lasisi, and the Guest Speaker, Barrister Femi Aborisade.
Aborisade while emphasizing on the theme ” PERESSSA – Developing Effective Strategies For Sustainable Industrial Harmony And Job Security”, charged members of organized labour to join politics and be consistent with their demands inorder to bring meaningful development to the country.
Olusesan maintained further that imposing the 5% fuel to tax on Nigerians would only further worsen the impact of economic hardships on their working conditions and daily needs which the current N77,000 minimum could not contain, owing to the removal of fuel from N197 to between N890 and N1000 per litre in 2023 that has affected every part of the economy hence the demand for a new minimum wage by labour.
He bemoaned the recent statement credited to The Chairman of the Presidential Tax Reform Committee, Taiwo Oyedele for dismissing the reports of a 5 percent fuel surcharge from January 2026 as “false and misleading,” stressing that it was a strategy by the FG to test Nigerians on the acceptability or rejection of the tax before implementation.
The president also expressed displeasure over the FG’s recent approved National Industrial Relations Policy (NIRP) 2025, stating that the aim was to silence legitimate union activities and prohibit the right labour unions to embark on strike and cage workers in poverty under pretense of creating “harmonious industrial relations.”
He said “the Federal Government must perish the thought of any plan to impose a 5 per cent fuel tax on petrol, diesel, and other fossil fuels from January 1, 2026 or anytime , as contained in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025.This reckless and anti-people policy comes at a time when workers and ordinary Nigerians are already battling an unprecedented hardship, spiraling inflation, high cost of food, wage erosion, and worsening working conditions.”
“The removal of fuel subsidies in 2023 already pushed pump prices from N197 to between ₦890 and ₦1,000 per litre. Adding another 5 per cent, about ₦50 more per litter, will only deepen the crisis of survival for millions.PERESSA noted that the recent statement by Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Tax Reform Committee, dismissing reports of a 5 percent fuel surcharge from January 2026 as “false and misleading,” reflects the usual deceptive rhetoric Nigerians have come to expect from government officials.”
“While such denials are made in public to pacify citizens, parasitic anti-poor policies are often quietly designed and implemented behind closed doors, leaving the masses to bear the brunt. This pattern of gas lighting the public while preparing exploitative measures only deepens distrust in government pronouncements.The government celebrates a new ₦70,000 minimum wage, yet its value has already been eroded by inflation, naira devaluation, and endemic corruption. Even the United States has publicly stated that such a wage cannot lift Nigerians out of poverty.”
“It is hypocritical that elected officials, who continue to allocate obscene salaries and perks to themselves, expect workers, lecturers, doctors, and nurses to endure slave wages and economic strangulation. The fuel subsidy removal and naira devaluation introduced to increase government revenue and thereby in the final analysis , given an endemic corruption which is characteristic of the government funnel national wealth into private pockets while factories closure ,jobs loss have push workers and ordinary people to slide deeper into misery.” noted
Olusesan also urged the Federal Government and some state governors to take a cue from Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma for approving N104,000 for his state’s public servants, said that it was high time FG consider to increasing the minimum wage to N150,000 to save the workers from untold hardships and hunger experience in their day-to-day activities.
“If Imo can pay N104, 000, with the reports of inflation, economic trends , the minimum N77,000 is no more realistic, we can’t demand more that N150, 000, it should be on the present prevalence of the economy and we cannot afford to ignore the painful realities confronting Nigeria’s economy today. Inflation continues to erode the already meager wages of workers, while unemployment has reached alarming proportions, leaving families in despair and economic misery.”
“Our union strongly reiterates that the minimum wage must reflect the realities of today’s economy. It is unacceptable that workers should live in poverty while contributing immensely to nation’s wealth , national productivity and growth. We call on government at all levels to faithfully implement a living wage and uphold the sanctity of collective bargaining.”
“So If Imo State can pay a minimum wage of N104, 000, nothing should stop other states from following suit. FINANCIAL DISCIPLINE AND UNION AS FIGHTING ORGANS Comrades, our strength lies in financial discipline and accountability. A union that lacks transparency cannot truly champion the cause of its members.” he added
The president, however said that under his watch the union would continue to fight for the interest of its members under the employment of any company “ensuring that members’ dues are judiciously used to advance our collective struggle and interests.
, an affiliate of Trade Union Congress(TUC), on Friday urged){kind=link}