The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

Mitigating the effects of subsidy removal

SIR: Fuel subsidy removal is a good development but, are there measures to mitigate the challenges that will arise from it? Before removing the subsidies, it is crucial to implement certain measures to mitigate the challenges that may arise. Here are some key considerations:

Implementing a transparent and accountable governance structure is essential to ensure that the savings from subsidy removal are utilized effectively. This includes establishing clear guidelines on how the funds will be allocated and invested in sectors that benefit the general population, such as education, healthcare, infrastructure, and social welfare programs.

To cushion the impact of subsidy removal on vulnerable population, it is important to establish targeted social safety net programs. These programs should provide direct support to low-income individuals and households, ensuring that they have access to essential goods and services at affordable prices. This can include cash transfers, subsidies for specific goods, or other forms of assistance tailored to the needs of different groups.

Creating awareness and engaging the public is crucial to ensure understanding and support. Transparent communication about the reasons behind the removal, its potential benefits, and the mitigation measures in place can help alleviate concerns and build trust. Engaging stakeholders, including civil society organizations, community leaders, and affected industries, in dialogue and decision-making processes can foster a sense of ownership and collaboration.

Read Also: ‘The gods happy with subsidy removal’

Removing subsidies can create opportunities for local industries to compete and thrive. To mitigate the challenges, it is important to support and strengthen domestic industries through policies that promote innovation, productivity, and competitiveness. This can include providing incentives, access to finance, and technical assistance to local businesses, as well as investing in research and development to enhance their capabilities.

Subsidy removal can serve as an impetus for diversifying the economy and reducing dependency on oil revenues. It is important to prioritize investments in sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, renewable energy, and technology, which can create jobs, enhance productivity, and stimulate economic growth. Promoting entrepreneurship, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, and attracting foreign direct investment can further contribute to economic diversification.

Establishing a robust monitoring and evaluation framework is essential to assess the impact of subsidy removal and ensure accountability. Regular monitoring of key indicators, such as inflation rates, prices of essential goods, and social welfare outcomes, can help identify any negative effects and allow for timely adjustments in mitigation strategies. Feedback mechanisms and periodic reviews can also provide valuable insights for refining policies and addressing emerging challenges.

By implementing these measures, Nigeria can better mitigate the challenges that arise from the fuel subsidy removal and ensure a more sustainable and inclusive economic framework for the benefit of its citizens.

•Akinola Ayobami Steven,

<akinolaa61@gmail.com>

June 8, 2023
Subsidy: Taking the bull by the horn

SIR: Since the removal of petroleum subsidy penultimate week, Nigerians have been groaning in hardship. Transportation fares have jumped by 300%. Fears have also gripped Nigerians on likely hyperinflation from hikes in prices of goods and services. Though, the World Bank approved $800 million in palliatives to cushion the effects of subsidy removal, it seems the government is yet to work out modalities for the payment.

No doubt, the subsidy scheme is nothing but daylight robbery. It is fraught with corruption. Under the regime, some highly connected people receive billions for fuel not imported. The lack of transparency in the management of subsidy payment is what has pushed government to mull the idea of scrapping the scheme. With government spending more than 100% of its revenue for debt services, it has no option than to stop the fraudulent subsidy payments.

President Ahmed Bola Tinubu has taken the bull by the horn by removing the subsidy which his predecessors failed to do. He has promised to channel the resources into infrastructure, health and education. This plan if implemented, would go a long way towards improving the living condition of Nigerians and should be supported.

Read Also: No agreement yet with Fed Govt over subsidy removal – Labour

The challenges Tinubu government will face are how to roll out the palliatives to Nigerians and how to go about reviewing the current minimum wage to reflect the realities. The organized labour had a meeting with the government representatives last week. The president has restated his commitment and promised to give Nigerians decent wages. This is good news! The million naira question begging for answer is how soon?

The transportation sector has been particularly hit by the subsidy removal. Many commuters have had to suspend their journey due to the astronomic raises in fares. In the meantime, the government should bring in buses to cushion difficulties commuters experience. There is the need for government to, in the long run, continue with train services and expand it where necessary. These buses and trains will provide cheap and affordable transportation services to Nigerians.

The NNPCL Managing Director, Mele Kyari, should match his words with actions. Kyari, recently stated two of the four refineries will be fixed this year to provide enough fuel for national consumption. He also said that another one will be revived next year, while the fourth one is expected to be completed in 2025. Indeed, this is cheering news. With Dangote’s new refinery couples with four functional national refineries, Nigerians should have cause to smile soon.

•Ibrahim Mustapha,

Pambegua, Kaduna State.

June 8, 2023
Fuel Subsidy: Affordable alternative for Nigerian businesses

SIR: Small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria face a number of challenges. Among these is their inability to access affordable energy to run their operations. Power from the national grid remains insufficient while the cost of alternative energy sources like diesel and petrol have gone up significantly in recent years.

In the past week, the federal government confirmed the removal of the subsidy on petrol, a move that – though well-intentioned – could lead to a significant increase in energy costs in the country and further undermine the ability of SMEs therein to access affordable power. Many gas stations are already dispensing the product at more than N500 per litre.

This may seem all gloom and doom and could further add to the challenges faced by vulnerable Nigerian businesses in an already difficult business environment. However, it also presents an opportunity for these businesses to think and invest in the long term.

Amidst the global push towards sustainability, this may be the best time for businesses in the country to explore and transition to clean energy. Transitioning to clean energy will not only help them to reduce their operating costs in the long-term, but it will also help them to align with the global quest for sustainability and even position them for incentives from the government, multilateral development institutions and donor agencies.

Read Also: No agreement yet with Fed Govt over subsidy removal – Labour

One of the key benefits that clean energy solutions present is their cost-effectiveness. Though the initial outlay on clean energy solutions such as solar panels, inverters and batteries may be high, they can lead to significant cost savings over time. This is largely due to their durability. A typical solar panel can last for up to 25 years and an inverter can last for 10 – 15 years, while lithium-ion batteries can last for more than 10 years.

They also do not require constant refuelling as with diesel and petrol generators. With solar power, for instance, its major fuel – sunlight – is a gift of nature and it comes at no cost.

Similarly, some financial institutions have rolled out financing options aimed at cushioning the impact of the initial investment on clean energy solutions like solar home systems and solar mini-grids. Cost-savings from reduced energy spending occasioned by clean energy transition can ultimately be channelled by businesses into other activities such as production, product innovation, sales, and customer service.

Another key advantage of transitioning to clean alternative sources of energy for SMEs is energy independence. Power from the national grid remains unstable. Clean energy sources like solar power present businesses with an opportunity to generate their own electricity and reduce their reliance on the national grid, ensuring consistent energy supply.

The global drive towards sustainability cannot be overemphasized. Fossil fuels emit several billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, which are deleterious to the environment, the society and, by extension, the economy in the long run.

SMEs, being the engines of the Nigerian economy, can play a leading role in Nigeria’s quest to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy solutions is one of those ways. It will go a long way in keeping Nigeria on course in not only meeting the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement, but also in actualising some of the ambitious targets it has set for itself in the recently launched Nigeria Energy Transition Plan.

•Chinedu George Nnawetanma,

mediachinedu@gmail.com.

June 8, 2023
‘Pay attention to children’s moral education’

PARISH Parish of New Testament Assembly Worldwide (Breakthrough Parish), Agege, Lagos, Rufus Olutuase, has urged parents and government to pay attention to the moral education of children from early ages.

This, he said, would benefit the children and society as well as give parents rest of mind.

He spoke at a party for children to mark this year’s Children’s Day on the church’s premises.

Olutuase hailed the growth of the Children’s Department, which he credited to the church’s provision of a conducive environment for children.

Head of the department, Mrs Shola Keshinro, said this success was due to repackaging of the church’s annual Children’s Day activities, which used to be low-key, but now features funfair, with bouncy castles,games, food and drinks.

Read Also: Cleric tasks parents, govt on moral education

”We used to distribute light refreshments on Children’s Day; it used to be low key. But last year, I had this thing in my spirit to repackage the Children’s Day and use it to win more souls to Christ. Last year, we had a party and some children who came continued to fellowship with us months after the celebration and even today they are still around. So that motivated us to even do a bigger party for them this year, to win more souls.”

Olamilekan Darasimi Samuel, one of the children who attended the Children’s Day celebration expressed appreciation at the programme. “I will just say thank you so much to our parents for letting us have this fun opportunity, especially the church that created the environment for the Children’s Day party.”

Oshunkeye Gift on his part, said, “I am happy to be here. Apart from play, today I have also learnt that no matter what we are given, we should be content. We should also be obedient to our parents;” while Adekunle Ogunlana said, “Children’s Day is a day set aside for children to play and have fun,” and they indeed were having fun.

June 8, 2023
Time to investigate the oil and gas sector

The last time Nigerians benefited from their country being an oil producer was during the post-civil war years under General Yakubu Gowon. It was not that there was no corruption then but the head of state was clean of any allegation of corruption. Since that time, every regime has flagrantly soiled its fingers in corruption. It has been the story of one woe and fluctuation of prices after the other until the four major refineries collapsed despite the spending of billions of dollars annually in so called turn around maintenance (TAM). We also saw regimes of oil bloc allocation to all sorts of people including those who had no idea of oil except that it was the fastest way of becoming billionaires without any sweat. Nigeria is the only country that distributes national patrimony to individuals without anybody asking questions. The oil sector became the target of adventurers in power who overthrew governments just to corner the hydrocarbons sector and to distribute its commissions to friends and relatives while the rest of Nigerians were left with the crumbs coming from the table of the emergency billionaires and so-called “oil men”. It became financially advantageous to know which men and women had access to getting you into the mystery of the hydrocarbons sale and commissions in the oil industry. Things got so bad that the local people of the Delta from where the oil and gas are located took up arms to try to get their own share of the oil booty. The security forces which are supposed to ensure that oil production, the economic lifeline of the country, went on without disruptions got entangled in the problem of corruption to the extent that it became expedient for people in power to hire some of the illegal pipeline breakers as protectors at billions of Naira per year since the formal security forces appeared incapable or unwilling to secure this important national asset.

In a recent book on ExxonMobil with the title of EXXON MOBIL AND AMERICAN POWER, a disparaging comment on the Nigerian Navy went thus: “American military officers come in here and they see a navy with all the trappings, the ranks, the uniforms and so on, and they think it’s a real navy- poor but earnest. But it’s not that at all. It was not obvious what policies the Americans could bring to bear on a sister service that was mainly a criminal enterprise dressed up in epaulettes. It’s hard to get used to the fact Nigerian officials will lie to you straight up. The chief of navy staff told us there has been no incidence of piracy in Nigerian waters between 2006 and 2009. Exxon Mobil itself was struck in some seasons as often as three times per month. Arguably, the effect of American military assistance to the Nigerian Navy had been to abet attacks on the property of America’s largest oil corporation”. The book indicated that the Nigerian Navy was complicit in the theft of oil in the Niger Delta. This account may be an exaggeration but is no smoke without fire.

At the height of oil production in Nigeria in the 1970s and 1980s, the country was producing 2.3 million barrels daily and was a major player in OPEC – the international oil cartel that at one time its oil minister served as president of the organisation and recently the late Mohammad Barkindo served as its Secretary General. Over time, the corruption ruined the oil industry and production went down below one million barrels by the time Muhammadu Buhari became president. Nigeria indeed was producing below its OPEC allocation. Although in recent times production has gone above one million barrels because oil pipeline vandalism has reduced due to better policing, not by security forces, but by some Niger Delta militants that the government has been compelled to hire to protect pipelines. The situation in which the country now finds itself is that money coming from crude oil sale cannot pay for the inflated cost of importing refined petroleum since the four local refineries are not working even though billions are spent annually in so called “turn around maintenance”. The most galling and sordid part of Nigeria’s oil industry is that while the refineries are down, the “workers” are being paid and promoted and sent abroad for training at humongous cost to government.

Read Also: Alleged N43.5m fraud: Absence of counsel stalls NOGASA chairman’s trial

For almost a decade, a regime of subsidies has been put in place to make imported oil cheap, so cheap that it provided an avenue for border communities to become very rich at the expense of Nigeria. Any observer can drive to Marua in northern Cameroons, Cotonou in Benin Republic, Zinder in Niger and Abacha in Chad republic and see how smuggled Nigerian imported petroleum is openly sold. Col. Hameed Ali who was brought in by Buhari to knock sense into the heads of corrupt Customs officers cried for eight years that the daily consumption of refined imported petroleum put at 60 million litres was a fraud because the previous consumption up to 2015 was half of this figure. If this is true, the figure of $800 million spent on subsidies monthly should have been half of that figure. Curiously, Buhari apparently did not listen to him and 50% of imported petrol found its way out of the country to countries in ECOWAS, the Cameroons, Chad and as far as the CAR in central Africa. This is where we are now. Nigeria is importing refined petroleum virtually for the whole of West Africa using sometimes foreign loans in addition to the income from exports of crude oil and agricultural products since we now earn less than what we spend because of this corrupt subsidies regime.

The solution seems simple to any lay man: Ban the importation of refined petroleum and free $800 million from this corrupt system for development of education, infrastructure, security and health sectors. This is what the new government is trying to do and must do if our country is not to go under. Eggheads and ideologues may argue from now till kingdom comes but the task of government must be done. It is true that the opacity of the oil sector is so great that no one can come up with figures with mathematical exactitude about how much oil we produce or how much we consume. This is the shame of a country that has been producing oil since 1956 with little or nothing to show for it in terms of development and amelioration of the lives of the poor masses. But a serious government must take the bull by the horns and try to do something. This is what the new government is trying to do.

Of course the vested interests in this smuggling business and the beneficiaries of the subsidies regime will fight back. They will infiltrate the Labour movement and convince other ordinary people that their government, out of the wickedness of its heart, is deliberately bent on making the lives of everyone worse than it met it. Government must put on its thinking cap and campaign vigorously about its intentions and the reasons why certain actions are necessary to save the country. Government should invite top flight auditing company from outside the country to do a clinical audit of the oil sector over the last 20 or so years and come up with names of people and companies that have ripped off Nigeria. If we are paying billions or is it trillions in judgement debts, we must have facts with which we can sue local and international companies that have defrauded Nigeria over the years. This is going to be a long journey but as the Chinese say the journey of a long distance must begin by taking the first step. This government has taken the first step of abrogation of the subsidy regime and it must be backed by all Nigerians if they know what is the best for their country.

June 8, 2023
Fuel subsidy blues

The din over the ‘fuel subsidy is gone’ pronouncement by the President on May 29 will take sometime to die down. Many of the reactions are, however, emotional. They chose not to face the stark reality of the matter. Those who should know better are more guilty of this. They know why things are the way they are but their political leaning constrains them from looking at this matter objectively.

‘Fuel subsidy is gone’ and from all indications it is gone for good. What should engage people’s attention now is how to ameloriate the sufferings of the common man in the wake of the subsidy removal. President Bola Tinubu is not callous not to know that the going of subsidy will have a multiplier effect on the econony. He has always been an advocate of subsidy removal with a human face.

This was why in 2012 he made a case for certain conditions-precedent before the Jonathan administration removes subsidy. If he could argue that way then and in support of the masses, is it now that he is in power that he would take an action to hurt the same class of people? Former President Goodluck Jonathan had all the time in the world to lay out plans for subsidy removal before he did so in 2012.

What did he do? From what we are hearing now, he apparently acted on bad advice and the whole thing came crashing on his head. Some of his aides are silently praying that the same thing should happen to Tinubu so that they can link it to divine providence. Mercifully, God is not man.

By January 1, 2012, Jonathan was already in office for eight months, counting from when he was sworn in on May 29,2011, and that is after completing the remaining one year tenure of the late President Umoru Yar’Adua between May 6, 2010 and May 29, 2011. In all, he had 19 months to do the spade work for subsidy removal. His failure to do the needful led to the bungling of subsidy removal 11 years ago.

Unlike him, Tinubu is only a few days old in office, and faced with a problematic economy that needs urgent fixing. His off-the-cuff remark that ‘fuel subsidy is gone’ was a reiteration of what he met on the ground and as reflected in the extant budget. It was to prepare the masses’ minds for the challenges ahead, which all Nigerians must face together. Tinubu knows that fuel subsidy cannot be removed fiam, just like that, without putting in place reliefs or palliative or interventions or whatever name it is called for the people.

The exigency of the time demanded that from Day One he should give the people a sense of the direction of his administration. He did that with the offhanded remark: ‘fuel subsidy is gone’. The President did not stop there. He has initiated moves to increase the minimum wage. Edo State has taken the lead in this regard to raise minimum wage from N30,000 to N40,000. It is a good place to start from. But salary increase is not all that is to address the problem.

Strike is not also the solution. No matter how long organised labour calls for a strike over the issue, the truth is that, that is not the way to go. Even, labour agrees that subsidy must go, what it and many others are asking for, is the setting up of structures for cushioning the effect of the removal on the poor. This is what is commonly called palliative, a word that became popular in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As PriceWaterCoopers (PwC) postulated in its recommendations, salary increase and tax holiday for the poor are given in the circumstance. This is not a time for economists to raise the alarm about any impending high inflation rate. We are already buffeted by inflation, which these ‘experts’ have not found solution to, amid the mismanagement of the nation’s monetary policy by the Godwin Emefiele-led central bank.

Read Also: How support and sabotage greeted fuel subsidy removal

The provision of mass transit vehicles should also be of immediate concern to the government. Many of these things must get the buy-in of the 36 states as well as the private and informal sectors, which were at the receiving end of fuel subsidy. The nation has come a long way since 2012 when Jonathan first took the subsidy removal gambit. Tinubu should not only learn from that mistake, but also draw from his own advice then of having in place structures for cushioning the effect of the removal on the poorest of the poor.

Those conditions that will make life better for the masses should be emplaced now as subsidy removal has since taken effect. No matter what cynics say, the President has shown that he has the courage of his conviction by his ‘fuel subsidy is gone’ comment. But, he knows too well that until the reliefs are rolled out, his job is only half done. As a man known for his human touch, the palliative that will come will surely have human face.

10th Assembly: The die is cast

BY this time next week, the 10th National Assembly would have been inaugurated and its presiding officers known. Who become Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives? Senator Godswill Akpabio is the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Senate President, while Tajudeen Abass is the party’s choice for Speaker. Their nominations have not gone down well with some members-elect of both chambers who are insisting that the party should not interfere in the impending election.

Will APC’s directive be obeyed or will its aggrieved members openly defy it when both chambers are proclaimed on June 13? President Bola Tinubu has waded in the matter to ensure that the inaugural sessions which are mainly for the election of presiding officers – Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker – do not degenerate to a feud on the floor. His intervention may save the day. Welcome to the 10th National Assembly.

June 8, 2023
NEMA receives 108 stranded Libyan returnees

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said another batch of 108 Nigerians stranded in Libya have been assisted back home.

The agency said the returnees were received Tuesday evening at the Cargo Wing, Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Ikeja in Lagos, where their flight, an Al Buraq Air Boeing 737-800 with registration number 5A-DMG, landed.

They were brought back through special intervention of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

According to NEMA’s Director General, Alhaji Mustapha Habib Ahmed, the returnees comprised of 46 women, two girls, an infant female, 52 men, four boys and four infant males.

The DG who was represented by NEMA’s Lagos Territorial Office Coordinator, Ibrahim Farinloye, said their flight landed at about 5:55pm, adding that there were two medical cases among the returnees.

He urged the returnees to use the opportunity of their return back to the country to be ambassadors of good tidings to other youths still planning to travel outside.

Read Also: Flood: NEMA partners with NiMET, NIHSA on early warning alerts

“The green pastures are here, let us tend the pastures to maturity so that benefits can be everlasting,” said the NEMA boss.

Extending the goodwill of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to the returnees, Ahmed said efforts were already ongoing to tackle challenges facing the country so that things could turn around positively.

He assured the returnees of the President’s pledge to include the youth in governance in order to incorporate their energy and technological skills, which were major impetus in driving a progressive society.

“The President would evolve a policy that youths and women will actively participate in the implementation.

“The youths will be the driving force of all decision in the present administration because of the importance that the leadership of this nation has placed on tapping the potentials abound in the largest segment of the population” the DG said.

Agencies that participated in receiving the returnees included the National Commission for Refugees, Migration and Internally Displaced Persons; Federal Ministry of Health, Port Health, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigeria Police.

June 8, 2023
Duplicity of NLC on fuel subsidy removal

By Leonard Karshima Shilgba

On Monday, May 29, President Tinubu announced to Nigerians and the world that no provision was made for fuel subsidy in the 2023 budget, and therefore “fuel subsidy is gone”. Following this, fuel marketers began to adjust their pump prices, with some hiking to above N700 a litre of PMS (Premium Motor Spirit, or, as Nigerians prefer to call it, “petrol”).

Another marketer, NNPC Limited, decided to officially communicate to its customers a range of prices of PMS at its outlets across the country. The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and its cousin the Trade Union Congress (TUC) met with officials representing the Federal Government on Wednesday, May 31 over the effects of subsidy removal on Nigerians, where both NLC and TUC were asked to present their list of demands or proposals aimed at “cushioning” the effect of subsidy removal. The two labour unions left and convened their separate meetings on Friday, June 2. While TUC put together a list of their demands and met on Sunday, June 4 with the federal government delegation led by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, the NLC on Friday, June 2, declared an “indefinite strike” from Wednesday, June 7, and refused to meet with the federal government’s delegation on Sunday, June 4, as earlier arranged.

At the Sunday, June 4 meeting, the federal government and TUC agreed to set up a tripartite committee comprising states, the organized labour, and the private sector to review the proposals/demands/ cushioning ideas on the tables, one of which is increase in salaries of Nigerian workers. In all this, the NLC, in a crudely belligerent fashion, was spoiling for a fight while adults were working on solutions.

On Sunday, June 4, while appearing on the Arise TV, the President of NLC, Joe Ajaero, was asked by the show host, Reuben Abati, why he was not at the TUC-FG meeting, which was going on at that time. Ajaero responded that he did not attend the meeting because fuel subsidy was removed. He had no good words for Dangote Refinery either, and excoriated the federal government for failing to revive its refineries. What he cunningly failed to tell viewers is this: In 2007, Dangote and other investors, under the Blue Star group, bought the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries, with a commitment to further invest over $1 billion to expand it. As soon as President Olusegun Obasanjo left office, the NLC put pressure on President Umaru Yar’Adua to reverse this decision. Eventually, the federal government returned to Dangote and his group the money that they had paid.

I recall that in July 2007, the old NNPC boasted that by September of the same year, they would reactivate the same refinery that Obasanjo sold to Dangote’s Blue Star group. I reacted and wrote the article titled “Yar’Adua’s Wrong Steps” (available online) in July 2007. From then, Dangote decided to build his refinery from the ground up, and this NLC president is not excited about it? Does he know that the new NNPC Limited has bought a stake in Dangote Refinery? Ajaero also has not told Nigerians that Daewoo of South Korea is currently working to reactivate some of the moribund refineries of the federal government.

Furthermore, the NLC president has refused, neglected, and failed to tell Nigerians that he is aware that President Buhari signed the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in October, 2021, which criminalizes fuel subsidy, permitting it for only 18 months in the transitional period (which expires in June, counting from the date of official commencement of implementation). Nigerians should ask Ajaero why his NLC didn’t call for “indefinite strike” because of this. Only few weeks ago, the immediate past Minister of Finance announced to the world that fuel subsidy would end from June this year. Why did Ajaero and NLC keep quiet?

In accordance with the PIA, the NNPCL is just like any other fuel marketer, not a regulator in the oil industry. We are fortunate that NNPCL, in spite of being owed by the federal government about N2.8 trillion in unpaid fuel subsidy, had the foresight of stocking up enough PMS to last for 30 days (counting from the end of May this year). Therefore, since the Tinubu’s government took over, not a drop of PMS has been imported; and, hopefully, if Dangote Refinery starts pushing out its products into the market in the first week of July this year (and this is doable), importation of refined petroleum products may be unnecessary going forward, with positive effect on the Nigerian consumers.

Read Also: Be patient with Tinubu on subsidy removal, Cleric begs Nigerians

Furthermore, logic imposes the truth that the volume of PMS that Nigerians consumed daily under the old price regime cannot be the same under this current price regime. The result is that the NNPCL old stock can last much longer than anticipated.

I expect that the June revenue in the Federation Account shall be much higher than in the months heretofore, even as NNPCL, for instance, will deposit more revenue for the federation. Hence, both the federal and subnational governments shall have improved revenues from June by simply blocking just one revenue leakage called fuel subsidy (I expect more revenue leakages to be identified and blocked).

How should the additional revenues be spent for the welfare of the people? This is the important conversation that the Ajaero-led NLC has chosen to not be part of, rather, electing to toe a partisan political path just to unsettle the new federal government of Tinubu, which Ajaero and his Labour Party have openly opposed.

Nigerians should know that what the NLC is asking for (“reversal of the pump prices of PMS by NNPCL”) cannot be done by the federal government or the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA), because they lack such powers under the PIA. The Petroleum Equalization Fund too is gone under the PIA. Let Nigerians note that NNPCL can sue and be sued. Besides all these, if they so wish, the NLC can register a fuel company and get products from anywhere in the world and sell at any prices it wishes.

Finally, let me give Nigerian workers free and unsolicited information and advice: Only few days ago, the Industrial Court ruled that it is lawful for workers to not be paid for the period they are on strike, and that this agrees with the Trade Dispute Act and International Labour Organization (ILO) charter.

Therefore, workers or trade unions who decide to heed the NLC’s call and go on “indefinite strike” should expect to forfeit their salaries for the entire period of strike.

President Tinubu announced that he would govern by the “constitution and law”. This is pregnant with meaning. Some Nigerians often brand theirs a “lawless country”. Now, we have a president who has started governing by the “constitution and law”, and NLC is asking him to break the law, simply because former presidents broke the law? Illogical, puerile!

Nigerians, let’s build our nation together. This is not the time for partisan politics.

•Shilgba, a professor of Mathematics, is of Admiralty University of Nigeria.

June 8, 2023
NLC, IPMAN and NNPC, behold our saviours

With the torture Nigerians experienced as a result of artificial fuel scarcity and Emefiele’s wicked conspiracy against Nigerians with his politically-motivated currency swap on the eve of an election, 2023 has been a hell on earth for many Nigerians. They could not wait for tired President Muhammadu Buhari to depart Aso rock villa seat of government. Slamming the same Nigerians struggling to survive with an increase of 160% from (N189 to over N500) in fuel pump price due to what President Tinubu described as a force majeure since the immediate past government did not make budgetary provision for subsidy beyond June, must be a bitter pill to swallow by Nigerians. One can therefore understand NLC’s righteous indignation against government.

Although removal of fuel subsidy which many Nigerians including President Buhari consider a scam was part of Tinubu’s campaign promises. It is equally true state governors as members of the National Executive Council, had met and agreed before the election that the PMS subsidy was harmful while the National Assembly went a step further to pass a law affirming removal of subsidy. To ensure the decision was irreversible, no budgetary provision was made by the immediate past government. Unfortunately, those facts will not assuage the raw feelings of suffering and impoverished Nigerians.

But many believe that declaring an indefinite strike three days after inauguration of a new government with students of secondary schools nationwide, writing WAEC exams and university students who have only just resumed after eight months-long ASUU strike seems to have been borrowed from IPOB play book which celebrates biting one’s nose in order to spite one’s face.

It is just as well that after a marathon meeting between a government team and leaders of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) late on Monday night, the planned indefinite strike over the removal of petrol was put off. NLC’s hand was further tied by Justice Olufunke Anuwe, who in her ruling, agreed that ‘the proposed strike action is capable of disrupting economic activities, the health and the educational sectors’.

The tragedy is that, IPMAN, NLC, NNPC have for years waged a vicious war against Nigeria. For instance, why should President Tinubu’s announcement that the fuel subsidy is gone for good’, which was an affirmation of what has become a force majeure lead to a knee-jerk reaction from IPMAN who despite the fact that their current stock was procured on old rate, created artificial scarcity forcing Nigerians to buy fuel at amount ranging between N500 to N800?

With the end of fuel subsidy regime, the chickens have finally come home to roost. NNPC, IPMAN and NLC that have remained the nations scourge are now coming out to show how much they love us.

First to demonstrate its love for us was the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) that has since 1999 actively participated in prolonging Nigeria’s nightmare. Its heartache last week was that Tinubu may not get “the N13 trillion saving being bandied around by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), as the amount to be saved from the removal of the subsidy apparently based on its projection of 60 million litres per day.

But that was not original to IPMAN. Hameed Ali, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Customs comptroller-general, was the first to query NNPC Ltd’s 60m litres consumption claim during a session with the House of Representatives’ Committee on Finance in September 2022 when he said: “So, how did you get to 60 million litres per day? “If you release 98 million litres in actuality and 60 million litres are used, the balance should be 38 million litres. How many trucks will carry 38 million litres every day? Which road are they following and where are they carrying this thing to?”

If indeed we have been swindled, it must be with active connivance of IPMAN since with vandalization of federal government fuel dumps across the country, all purported imported fuel ends up in their members’ fuel dumps. It will also appear that NLC that is set to pull down Tinubu’s three-day administration with three days’ notice for an indefinite strike love none but their members. There have been many missed opportunities to demonstrate their love for Nigeria.

Read Also: Subsidy: Nigeria not consuming 60ml/ day, says IPMAN

During the Obasanjo administration, the National Assembly increased number of fuel importers from the four multinationals to over a hundred. Under Jonathan administration, with Bukola Saraki serving as whistle-blower, it was discovered through a House probe that children of PDP stalwarts forged documents to defraud Nigeria of about N1.7trillion ‘without importing a pint of fuel” while NLC did nothing.

NLC members were also active in Nigerian Ports Authority, (NPA), the custodians of all the records of the ships that purportedly brought in the consignments of fuel; same with the global body of shippers, the Lloyd’s with their register just as the Central Bank of Nigeria has the records of all claims processed for payment.

President Obasanjo, frustrated by dubious Nigerians after sinking huge amount of funds into turn around maintenance with little relief to Nigerians decided to sell the moribund refineries to Dangote and Otedola. Yar’Adua succumbed to NLC threat to make Nigerian ungovernable if the sales were not reversed.

As for NNPC, details showed that Kaduna refinery spent N24 billion in direct costs to record zero revenue and an operating loss of N64 billion for 2018. A breakdown of the direct costs and administrative expenses showed that it incurred N447.7 million in training expenses, security expenses of N230 million, communication expenses of N37.3 million, and consultancy fees of N843 million.

Similarly, a breakdown of the payments made to directors showed that total employee cost was put at N23 billion in 2018. These payments include salaries and wages, death benefit, administrative expenses, etc. The financial statement showed that Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (KRPC) generated no revenue in 2018, but incurred an operating loss of N64.5 billion.

For the Warri Refining Company, the audited financial statement showed that the company earned N1.98 billion as revenue while it incurred N12.74 billion as cost of sales, resulting in a gross loss of N10.57 billion and an operating loss of N45.39 billion. The Port Harcourt Refining Company recorded total revenue of N1.45 billion in 2018 with expenses of N24.04 billion, resulting in a gross loss of N22.58 billion.

NLC is tarred with the same brush with IPMAN and NNPC. It is their members that sabotaged the refineries after each turnaround repair; it is they that vandalise federal government depots forcing NNPC to rely on private depots for imported petroleum products. It is their members that ferry tankers across the borders to Benin Republic, Togo, Niger and Sudan. It is they that vandalised the 4,500 kilometres of fuel pipeline put in place by Obasnjo in 1979, to pave the way for some individuals who today boast of as many as ten thousand trucks.

Between 2013 and 2015, NNPC expended about $396m on Turn-Around Maintenance of refineries in the country. Under Buhari N7.9trn was spent on petrol subsidy while another N4.15trn went for maintaining and rehabilitating the three refineries since 2015. Altogether, the nation may have spent about $25bn on the refineries in 25 years, according to a report in BusinessDay.

It is instructive that the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and its president, Joe Ajaero, that now threaten to topple a three-day government, harbours some unscrupulous individuals that manipulated the subsidy fraud for their own personal gains, saw nothing, heard nothing and did nothing in the last eight years.

June 8, 2023
Nigeria’s positive image in Africa

By Olalekan A. Babatunde

The representation of Nigeria in Africa is more positive than usually thought. This was again confirmed in the recent seminar on China globalization and African development in Jinhua in the Zhejiang Province of China from May 19 to June 1, where I represented Nigeria. I joined other 28 African delegates; each from their country, to attend the seminar put together by the Institute of African Studies in the Zhejiang Normal University, with the Department of Foreign Affairs of Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government and Jinhua Municipal People’s Government to rub minds on our development trajectories and how to deepen cooperation and dialogue between Africa and China. Also, we were in attendance at the 12thmeeting of the China-Africa Think Tank Forum.

Whenever I travelled outside the country and met with our fellow brothers and sisters in Africa either within or outside the continent in a conference, school, market and other fora, their comments about Nigeria are commonly positive and encouraging. Their admiration of and confidence in Nigeria is quite beyond measure. This subtle impression of our country may not be extracted until you interact with them and also listen to their personal experiences of their countries.

Despite some misgovernment and its resultant corruption, violence, terrorism, drug trafficking, illegal migration and what have you; Nigeria’s image is nevertheless held in high esteem in Africa. Not only because of its largest population or vast resources, but also due to the achievements of its people across many human endeavours in education, economic, trade, sports, social development, arts and culture. They wonder at the independent mindedness and gregariousness of Nigerians to associate with other compatriots, but who could look in the face of racial bigot or bully, and call their bluff. In a video going viral, a lady testified you could identify a Nigerian several metres far-off from the way they walk. They are bold and exude great pride and confidence, even the face of personal difficulties.

What the African delegates at the China event told me individually and in-group from the beginning to the end of our interactions were positive. For instance, some would exclaim “that great country!”, “Nigerians are smart people”, “Nigeria is our superpower”, “wherever you go and you don’t find a Nigerian, leave immediately”, and so on. Such attests to the greatness of Nigeria despite the overwhelming problems.

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Indeed, my fellow participants often admired my contributions and some would not hide their feelings that it is only Nigerians that could bail out the continent from the shackles of oppression and discrimination. They won’t stop making references to the famous novel, ”Things Fall Apart” by Professor Chinua Achebe in which they offered in secondary and tertiary in Southern, East and Central Africa. They talked popularly of the Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka and other notable achievements of Nigerians on the globe. They even reminded me of the swearing-in ceremony of our new president, and informed me of the arrival of their presidents in Abuja for the inauguration.

The role Nigeria played and still playing in ECOWAS was mentioned. They said without our country, there would not be the regional integration and cooperation. In fact, they were not happy that the ECO currency being pushed by Nigeria for years has not taken off. They could not believe that the Ethiopia Airline comes to four Nigerian cities every day. Likewise, I will not forget a conference in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston in 2014 where a Tunisian shared his confidence with me that it was only Nigeria that could give the continent a world cup in football. Reasons for this could not be far-fetched. Nigeria had displayed prowess in this game in the world youth championships.

During the height of notoriety of Boko Haram, a student asked me in South Africa in 2016 of what was happening in Nigeria. Every day was the tragic news of suicide bombings, killings and raiding that went viral on social media. I told him it was an unfortunate and painful episode of our country’s history. However, he should remember that our experience has shown it was not easy keeping law and order in a vast and diverse country with over 200 million people and uncountable ethnic cleavages. I assured the gentleman everything would be all right.

It was also in that South Africa that an African Development Bank’s economist presented an outcome of an economic study showing both South Africa and Nigeria competing for the number spot in the continent. When I asked why Nigeria was in such great position despite the then prevailing violence and corruption, he said, for instance, that the Nollywood alone was shooting up Nigeria’s GDPs. Then there is the petroleum and other natural and human resources.

That is why, as we transit into another administration in the midst of national and global challenges, we should not be weary but be proud of our great country. Other Africans hold us in great respect, even though a few may hide it. We should return the respect too as respect is reciprocal. Nigerians who whine about our not-so-good national conditions are also not wrong. Several lives and property are lost while a lot of initiatives have been dashed and promises and commitments unkept.

But think deeply, Nigeria is always in the front in most human endeavours. Nonetheless, and very importantly, let us embrace our fellow Africans too in the spirit of pan-Africanism. Their expectations of Nigeria and Nigerians are high and therefore, we should not disappoint them. They want Nigeria to lead in the front in the current struggle against widespread discrimination and skewed world order that is perpetuating the black people all over the world in poverty and underdevelopment. Being called the giant of Africa is not a hollow statement. It is when you meet with other compatriots in Africa and other continents that one will understand that statement is not without real significance and value. It comes with great respect and encouraging representation.

•Babatunde, PhD, writes from Nigeria’s Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, via austinebabatunde@yahoo.com

June 8, 2023