- TUC defers action, present demands to FG Sunday
- Why we won’t fix petrol prices again, by agency
- FG scraps Petroleum Equalisation Fund, National Transport
- Allowance for oil marketers
- Design immediate palliatives for Nigerians, Reps tell govt
- Subsidy removal not negotiable, say ex-minister, Labour chief
- Labour Party faction carpets NLC, TUC for rejecting removal
The Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) yesterday endorsed the Federal Government’s decision to remove petrol subsidy.
This came on a day the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) threatened to call out workers on strike from Wednesday if subsidy removal was not reversed immediately.
Support for government on the subsidy also came yesterday from a former national planning minister Prof Abubakar Suleiman and an ex-vice president of the NLC, Comrade Isa Aremu.
But the PGF, which met with President Bola Tinubu yesterday, condemned petrol retailers for hiking prices of their old stock soon after the President’s inaugural speech on Monday.
Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, who doubles as Chairman of the PGF, told reporters at the end of the meeting with Tinubu that the petrol subsidy was no longer sustainable as the country had been borrowing money to pay for it.
He said: “What Mr. President did during the inauguration, he did not direct that subsidy should be removed. We already agreed as a government and in the National Economic Council that subsidising petroleum products is no longer sustainable, because for the past two years, we have been borrowing to subsidise, and in various meetings I, for instance, have asked questions: who are the exact beneficiaries of this subsidy? And I’m sure you, from the media, may not know the exact beneficiaries and there’s none of us here who can vouch for the integrity of implementation programme of the petroleum subsidy allocation.
“It has gotten to a point that it is either that which is no longer sustainable is managed or there will be no Nigeria, and all of us are committed to the success and unity of the country and the last appropriation, which is law, made provision for subsidy up till June.
“The President, who was only sworn-in a few days ago, has not prepared any budget, and he’s under oath to respect the laws of the land, and one of these laws is the 2023 Appropriations Acts.
“So by June this year, it is very clear that there is no provision for any money to be used to subsidise petroleum products. What he did from the address, because I went home two days, took that address, went through that address and saw that what the President mentioned passively was petroleum subsidy is no longer fashionable and cannot be sustained and we, members of National Economic Council, chaired by former Vice President Osinbajo, agreed also to the extent that the former government had concluded arrangements to take loan from the World Bank, that will be used as palliative to be sent to the people of Nigeria, as a measure to cushion the harsh weather or inconveniences of the complete removal of the subsidy by government.
“So it is not new and I want you people to help this situation, because collectively, only working together can save the country. I thought that what we should be saying now is, in the absence of subsidising petroleum products, how are we going to make this product available to Nigerians to use?”
On the effects of the subsidy removal, Uzodinma said: “There’ll be new economic realities, and once a new policy comes, there’s usually this panic.
“For instance, from May 29 till today, I’m not aware that any petroleum market has imported any product. All the products in their storage facilities are those already imported, subsidized by government. Why the rush to increase the prices? It is man’s inhumanity to man.
“So I think that what we should do is to be our brother’s keepers and learn how to save the firewood we got during the dry season, so we can use it during the rainy season.
“But I think also that as we work towards improving the economy of this country, with the intention of creating prosperity, government will be reasonable enough to look at the reality on ground and address them as appropriate. I have no doubt in my mind that the man who has raised his pump price from N300+ to N500+ is creating panic that there’ll be no product.”
Subsidy removal not negotiable, say ex-minister, labour chief
A former national planning minister, Prof Abubakar Suleiman, and an ex-vice president of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Isa Aremu were similarly supportive of the total deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.
Suleiman is the current Director-General of National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) while Aremu is the DG Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS).
They spoke during a lecture entitled “Challenges of democratic governance in Nigeria’s 4th Republic: Setting agenda for the Tinubu administration”, organised by the Faculty of Humanity and Social Sciences, Alh-Hikmah University.
Prof Suleiman, who was the guest lecturer, said Nigeria could not afford to continue to “go back and forth on subsidy removal.”
“Let us face the reality and know where we are going,” he declared.
Continuing, he said: “In Nigeria, fuel subsidy has constituted enormous drain on national resources and foreign reserves.
“I call on Nigerians to be patient as the government resolves the difficulties occasioned by subsidy removal. It is equally important for the government to implement robust measures to cushion the effects, especially on the poor.
“I am convinced that in the long run, the funds saved from the subsidy, which hitherto benefited only a few, can be channeled to development projects and interventions to the advantage of millions of Nigerians.
“The impact that private refineries like Dangote Refineries and the smaller modular refineries will have on local market supply in the short to medium term will be a critical factor in the ability of the administration to sustain the subsidy removal policy since the government refineries will not be able to bridge the gap.”
Aremu agreed with his position.
Arewa Youths back Tinubu on subsidy removal
The Arewa Youth Assembly (AYA) called for calm, understanding and support of Nigerians on the issue of subsidy removal.
Speaker of the group, Mohammed Salihu Danlami, described the subsidy withdrawal as a tough one, hence the reluctance of previous administrations to deal with it.
Danlami said Nigeria could not continue to indulge in a waste of resources and misplacement of priority with lethal consequences to the people.
“Subsidy has fatal effects on inflationary pressures on the economy, which negatively impact the exchange rates and result in all kinds of untold sufferings for Nigerian masses and push millions of youths into different forms of terrorist activities and insurgency,” he said.
He said no meaningful development would be made by the country if the subsidy was allowed to remain.
NLC to FG: Return petrol to old pump price or face’s industrial action
However, the NLC at a meeting of its organs yesterday in Abuja asked the Federal Government, through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), to revert to the N195 old pump price of premium motor spirit immediately, failing which it threatened to call out workers on strike from Wednesday.
A meeting between government and organised labour to resolve the issue last Wednesday ended in a deadlock while another round of negotiation is expected to take place tomorrow.
Speaking at the end of yesterday’s meeting, NLC President Joe Ajaero directed affiliates of the NLC to commence mobilisation immediately ahead of the planned nationwide protest.
He said: “The NLC decided that if by Wednesday next week the NNPCL, a private limited liability company that illegally announced a price regime in the oil sector, refuses to announce revert for negotiation to continue, that the NLC and all its affiliates will withdraw their services and commence protests nationwide until this is complied with.
“The NNPCL doesn’t have the monopoly to act illegally even as a private company. The NLC NEC therefore directed all state councils and all industrial unions to commence mobilisation from this moment to make sure that this action is enforced. The action has commenced at this moment.”
He also called for a probe of the subsidy regime.
The labour leader similarly urged the NNPCL to ensure a proper account of the volume of petroleum products consumed daily by Nigerians.
He accused the NNPCL of refusing to name the beneficiaries of subsidy and the landing cost of petroleum products.
He said: “The Nigeria Labour Congress is calling for a thorough probe in the process of subsidy to know those involved and the amount involved. Investigate it properly before it is swept under the carpet.
“The current attempt to sweep the fraudulent practices in the subsidy regime should not be tolerated by all well-meaning Nigerians.”
The NNPCL on Wednesday jerked up the pump price of PMS by over 200 per cent, bringing the price of fuel to between N488 and N557 per litre.
This decision followed a pronouncement made by President Bola Tinubu that subsidy had gone during his inauguration on Monday.
Design immediate palliatives for Nigerians, Reps tell FG
The House of Representatives waded into the matter yesterday, asking the Federal government to immediately design measures and palliatives for the generality of Nigerians to cushion the effects of subsidy removal.
Referencing the report of its ad–hoc committee on the Petroleum Products Subsidy Regime in Nigeria, the House called for the introduction of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses as an alternative Transport System and intermodal, regional and national transport system to ease mass movement of people across the country.
It said government should also liaise with the National Assembly to fashion out critical areas of economic development in which the additional revenue from the subsidy removal could be appropriately utilised.
Besides, it advocated the immediate suspension of the Direct Sale, Direct Purchase (DSP) contract between the NNPC and other oil companies operating in the country, while asking the NNPC to ensure that the country is not short changed in production, lifting and sales of crude in line with the Petroleum Industry Act.
It also said that the Nigeria Customs Service and Weight and Measures Department of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment should be equipped to ascertain the actual daily crude oil lifting from the country for proper checks and balances.
Why we won’t fix petrol prices again, NMDPRA
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) said yesterday that it would no longer fix prices or release template for petrol prices.
The chief executive of the agency, Engr Farouk Ahmed, explained that in a liberalised market, market forces are allowed to dictate prices.
“As far as we are concerned in the NMDPRA, this is not like before when the PPPRA fixed the price. In a deregulated market, it is the market forces that dictate the price,” he said.
“In the case of the NNPC, the organisation is the sole importer at this point. We told the NNPC to recover its costs because they know how much it costs them to import the product and sell.
“Of course, we also know how much shipping, offshore, ex-depot and ex-pump are. But we cannot tell them to sell at a price because the market is deregulated.”
The NMDPRA chief also revealed that the Federal Government has officially scrapped petroleum equalization as well as the national transport allowance.
He also stated that the NMDPRA and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) will mount aggressive monitoring of activities in the downstream sector to prevent profiteering by petroleum marketers.
Ahmed said the market will henceforth be modulated to allow the fluidity of prices.
His words: “This means that the price will no longer be static. It will depend on the international price of the gasoline market.
“But this does not imply that marketers can sell at any price. If we find that certain prices are way above the expected profit margin, we and the FCCPC can move in to curb such excesses, because that will be profiteering.
“The market structure will dictate the price swings at every point in time.”
He maintained that the Dangote Refinery will help the nation in two ways, adding, “The refinery will give Nigeria easy access to petroleum products on-land for security reasons because it is within the Nigerian territory. Secondly, it will increase employment for our professionals.”
However, Ahmed was quick to caution against optimism for cheap petroleum products, saying, “I don’t think products will be cheaper, because the company will be buying crude oil at the international price.
“However, it is going to be cheaper in terms of freight rate. Bringing of cargoes from Europe. Dangote Refinery is a game changer in terms of accessibility.
“By the time the NNPC refineries and other modular refineries across the country come on stream, Nigeria will be a net exporter of petroleum products.”
Stop patronising black marketers, Sanwo-Olu cautions residents
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu urged residents to stop patronising black marketers, saying market forces would determine the price, especially with the new regime on parade.
Sanwo-Olu, speaking through Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat who went round the metropolis to monitor filling stations, warned residents to desist from panic-buying because there was enough fuel to go round since the subsidy was removed.
“Lagos is always the epicenter of everything. Forty per cent of the cabs are in Lagos. Whatever affects petrol affects Lagos, so the essence is to go around and assess the situation since the subsidy was removed,” he said.
“For us, it is to make sure there is no scarcity. People don’t need to rush. Prices have gone up, but in terms of volume, there is enough volume. So there is no question of scarcity.
“Don’t patronise black marketers. The bottom line is very simple because there is no regime of fuel subsidy again. People don’t have the incentive to hoard anymore.
“It was sold for N185 before, but in the Republic of Benin, it sells for N650. That is why we claim the volume is high, but it will still crash. This should be clear to all of us that in the next two to three months, the volume will crash and the market will determine the prices.
“Various commentators and the IMF have told us we are spending trillions subsidising substantially rich people because we are spending 13 per cent on the less-privileged and 87 per cent on those who can afford it. This doesn’t make sense.
“But if we are able to plough that money back, then it makes it easier to invest in education, health and others. So the President will be able to harness it and use it for various projects.
“I understand that transportation fares have gone higher, but the fact is that it will get a little tougher before it gets better.
“Remember, the prices in Lagos will be different from Ibadan. And even in Lagos, because of efficiency, prices will differ but you are not subsidizing anybody’s inefficiency. It is a question of time, in just two or three months, things will stabilize, so if the international prices crash, it will also crash. Competition will always make it crash, market forces will determine the prices.”
TUC defers action on subsidy removal, present demands to FG Sunday
The Trade Union Congress has deferred taking action on the removal of subsidy on premium motor spirit otherwise known as petrol by the Federal Government.
The Congress said a decision on what to do next would be made on Sunday after a meeting of organised labour with the Federal Government team.
The TUC said it would present its demands to the government team during the meeting and wait for the response of the government before deciding its next line of action.
President of TUC, Festus Osifo, said this during a briefing on Friday in Abuja after the National Executive Council meeting of the Congress.
Osifo urged the government to revert to the old price of N195 per litre while discussion continues.
Speaking with reporters at the end of the NEC meeting, Osifo said: “Congress is unhappy with the unilateral removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government. Our expectation was that they should have engaged the representative of the people – the organised labour.
“The NEC in session resolved that discussion should continue while we demand that government should revert to status quo ante while discussion continues. Because of the fact that we had a meeting with the representatives of government on Wednesday and they gave us a list of what they say they will do and they demanded from us our own lost.
“We told them that the list we want to put forward we will not submit them now. We told them we are going back to our organs to discuss and put forward the things we can put forward.
“We have had a conversation and the NEC has mandated us to go back to the meeting and put forward our demands before the government.
“It is how government reacts to our demands that will necessitate our next line of action. We will tarry till Sunday when we will meet the representatives of government. Once we are done with the meeting and tender our demands, it is how they will react that will determine our next line of action.
“NEC has mandated the National Administrative Council to come up with series of action depending on the reaction of government. That is our position.”
Subsidy removal, tough decision, but we must all support President — Makinde
Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, yesterday described subsidy removal as a tough decision, but called on Nigerians to support President Bola Tinubu on it.
Governor Makinde spoke after he, together with the immediate past governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, and a former governor of Delta, James Ibori, met with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The governor said the team had visited the President “to let him know that he has started well and he has the support of the generality of the people.”
Asked if they discussed the subsidy matter with Tinubu, he said: “Yes, we discussed it. It’s something that is on top of public discourse right now. We know it’s a tough decision for the people and he needs the support of everybody to see this through.”
Also speaking, former Governor Wike said they were in the Villa to show President Tinubu their support, adding that they are in support of his decisions so far, which he said had shown that he was prepared for the job.
“There’s no big deal about it, the governor of Oyo has told you what we came to do: to give him support. We are supporting all the decisions he’s taking. It shows that he’s prepared for the job and there’s nothing bad about that. It requires tough decisions for a country to move forward,” Wike said.
Asked if they were contemplating defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Wike simply said “don’t say that”.
The trio of Makinde, Wike, and Ibori came in at about 4:25pm, about the time the Chief Executive Officer of Access Holding Plc, Mr Herbert Wigwe, who had been to the President’s office, was walking out.
Both Governor Makinde and former Governor Wike are considered to be allies of President Tinubu and believed to play supporting roles in his election during the February 29, 2023 election.
Also sighted at Villa, on courtesy visit to the President yesterday, were the immediate past governors of Kano and Ebonyi states, Abdullahi Ganduje and Dave Umahi, respectively.
