Don’t Stop Food Import Now, Fix Insecurity First, TUC tells FG

Nigeria's Trade Union Congress (TUC) has strongly advised the Federal Government against suspending food imports, warning that such a move would make essential items like rice unaffordable for many citizens.

“

We don’t want a bag of rice to go back to N100,000 or N120,000. Even where it is today, we still believe it is relatively high.

The union emphasized that food imports should continue until the country addresses its pervasive insecurity issues, which prevent farmers from accessing their farmlands. TUC President-General, Comrade Festus Osifo, stated that the current policy of allowing food imports has helped stabilize prices, and reversing it would push the cost of a bag of rice back to unsustainable levels, potentially N100,000 or N120,000.

"We don’t want a bag of rice to go back to N100,000 or N120,000. Even where it is today, we still believe it is relatively high," Osifo said. He reiterated the TUC's earlier demand from early 2024 for the government to secure food from global sources, stressing that people need to eat to be productive.

“

At that time we told government to look for food all over the world, because it is when people see food to eat that they can go to work, that they can go to school.

Furthermore, the TUC called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to revalue the naira, suggesting a target rate of N900 to N1000 per dollar. The union argues that the current exchange rate of approximately N1,380 to the dollar is fueling inflation and disproportionately affecting workers' earnings, as wages do not reflect currency devaluations. Osifo believes the fair value of the naira, based on purchasing power parity, should be significantly lower than the current market rate.

“

The only people that devaluation helps is actually the workers, because every other item reflects the naira component. But what never reflects devaluation is the earnings of Nigerian workers.