When the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Timipre Sylva, announced that work at the two Port Harcourt refineries were proceeding satisfactorily, the Federal Government must have thought it was soothing news for a beleaguered nation. But, it was not so received by a people who have learnt to take government pronouncement with a pinch of salt.
Life has become so difficult for Nigerians under the Muhammadu Buhari administration, as the country slipped into recession soon after the government was inaugurated. Thereafter, the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and another recession that crawled out late last year have sought to cripple the economy, making the future to look somewhat bleak.
But, experts and a groaning people have attributed the hardship to government’s planlessness. All countries, including the G7 countries, were hit by the unexpected pandemic, but because their economies are on sound footing, they were able to cushion the effect on businesses and people. In Nigeria, life has become unbearable, especially following the Russia-Ukraine war that broke out this year. With an import-dependent economy, inflation has continued to soar, and prices of goods have hit the roof top.
One sector that has thrown all macro and micro economic projections off balance is the hike in the price of petroleum products. While the outcry in Nigeria is more in respect of the Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) used for most of private and public vehicles, as well as micro and small scale enterprises, the corporations and large scale businesses are groaning as the price of diesel has skyrocketed in the oil-producing country. The airlines are not spared the agony, courtesy of rising cost of aviation fuel.
President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a Bill to amend the 2022 Appropriation Act to the National Assembly. As all attempts to remove subsidy on petrol have been stoutly resisted by the general citizenry that refused to believe economic models and theories, explanations and promises, government sought an upward adjustment in the projected subsidy for PMS in the year. The Senate was swift in approving an additional N3.55 trillion. This has further pushed the budget outlay above N17 trillion, with the deficit now standing at N7 trillion.
In the last year of the Buhari administration, it is obvious that he would be bequeathing a broken nation to his successor. Had the Federal Government taken necessary steps to rehabilitate, privatise or commercialise the four refineries in his first term, the country might have been prepared for the economic challenges. Rather, for seven years, the government did nothing on the refineries.
If all the government can do is ensure that one of the refineries is propped to process 60,000 barrels of crude oil, it does not deserve applause. The other Port Harcourt refinery is only expected to resume partial production by the end of next year. It appears that the country can only hope to depend on the Dangote Refinery expected to come on stream in the last quarter of this year. This is dangerous, given the monopoly setting that would be so engendered. Alhaji Aliko Dangote is a businessman whose main objective is to make profit. There is no assurance that the products would be sold to the public at affordable prices. Government has a duty to watch out for the people’s welfare that is not well catered for under this economic regime.
We hope the next government would work assiduously towards making Nigeria a productive country, freeing the people from misery and lifting them out of the present abject poverty.