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  • Anger swells against Senate over planned fuel price hike

    Anger swells against Senate over planned fuel price hike

    Anger swelled up across the country yesterday as Nigerians pondered the introduction of N5 tax per litre of imported fuel advocated by the Senate.

    Individual Nigerians and groups who spoke with our correspondents in different interviews yesterday were unanimous in asking the upper chamber to drop the idea.

    The Secretary General of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Mr. Anthony N. Z Sani, called the planned fuel tax  ill-timed.

    Among other proposals, the National Roads Fund (establishment) Bill 2017, which passed the second reading in the Green Chamber on Thursday, seeks the introduction of the tax on non-locally refined petroleum products.

    The ACF scribe said that  increasing the fuel pump price at a time most Nigerians find it hard to meet basic needs  due to economic recession is not good for the country.

    He is of the opinion that while “there is the need for sources of funding needed for maintenance of roads, the National Assembly should be more realistic when it comes to taxation and methods of taxing the people.”

    He added: “Nigerians are finding it hard to take basic needs for granted due largely to the downturn in the economy.

    “So, the National Assembly should consider the appropriate timing for any taxation. What is more, N5 extra per litre is like indirect tax which does not make the people feel civil sense of responsibility that government’s money is their own.

    “I would prefer some form of aggressive direct taxation at appropriate time, which would make Nigerians believe government is truly funded by tax payers’ money.

    “Such practice would make Nigerians hold government accountable and make the people make judicious use of their democratic rights and ensure that votes count so that the ensuing leaders would be accountable.

    “That would also make Nigerians to vote on real issues of real concern to real ordinary Nigerians as against the present practice where people vote more on religion and ethnicity, which are not helpful.”

    Invitation to anarchy

    President of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Comrade Shetimma Yerima, said adding a kobo to the price of petrol and diesel would amount to inviting anarchy.

    His words: “I don’t know how they came about the idea of increasing the price. We will mobilise other progressive groups to make sure that the plan does not see the light of day.

    “If they are wise enough, they will be concerned about how to wipe away hardship from the faces of Nigerians.

    “You cannot continue to unleash terror on the people who supported you to win an election.

    “The Senate is inviting anarchy and they should be prepared  for it. We are sick and tired of all this. We are not in a Banana Republic where the ruling class keeps  unleashing terror, suffering and hardship on the people.”

    National  President of Yoruba Youth Council and  Secretary-General of the Coalition of Ethnic Nationalities Youth Leaders of Nigeria, Comrade Eric Oluwole, said: “The bill is coming at a wrong time  for  Nigerians, especially when we are trying to come out from the economic recession.

    “Yoruba Youth Council will never allow the  National Assembly to aggravate  the suffering of the people using the  bill. I know the average Nigerian is not happy about the present situation of our dear country where everybody is looking for a way to reduce hardship.

    “The National Assembly should stop this bill. The ethnic youth groups in the country will not hesitate to mobilise against the bill, if the Senate fails to stop it.

    Also speaking, the leader of the Ohanaeze Youth Council, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said: “The bill is not the change that Nigerians voted for. We condemn it in  totality.

    “The Senate  should find a lasting solution to the issue of petroleum products and the economy. Nigerians are not happy with the way things are going.”

    Aba-based legal practitioner, Mr. Emperor Ogbonna, said “our senators should be talking about reactivation of moribund refineries. They should encourage modular refineries. The Senators should be talking about how we can stop importation of refined products.

    ”The idea of increasing  the price of petroleum pump price should be jettisoned. We should be thinking of how to export refined products and how to sell the products to Nigerians at a more affordable rate.”

    The chairman, Civil Liberties Organisation, Aba Unit, Prof. Charles Chinekezi, said “the argument is uncalled for and the proposal is simply a continuation of the flip flop policy making process in Nigeria.

    “Does this argument actually pass the test of logical reasoning when you know that Nigeria is a major producing country and several nations rely on Nigeria for their own fuel supply by purchasing crude from us and even refined products earlier than now when our refineries were running?

    ”These lawmakers are now forcing Nigerians to believe that we, as a nation, are incapable of refining our crude, selling to ourselves and other nations like before because this refineries can no longer be resuscitated to run well forever more.

    “Can they actually listen to themselves as lawmakers who have the fate of nearly 200 million people in their hands?

    ”In any case, this proposal is completely unacceptable and dead on arrival. The lawmakers should be able to think out of the box and not being self defeatist.

    “We had the PDTF (Petroleum Development Trust Fund), PTF (Petroleum Trust Fund) toll gates scattered across the country as it were and other central policies aimed at funding special sectors of our national development, and each time, lawmakers and other elected leaders behave like people who are suffering from amnesia.”

    Organised labour kicks

    Organised  labour, comprising  the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), also advised  the National Assembly against any attempt to further impoverish Nigerians through increase in the price of petroleum products in the name of funding road maintenance in the country.

    “They will be resisted. Our patience is over-stretched and we cannot contain it anymore. A word is enough for the wise,” President of Trade Union Congress, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, and the General Secretary, Comrade Musa-Lawal Ozigi, said in a statement yesterday.

    Kaigama, in a separate text message to The Nation, said  the congress would  do everything humanly possible to resist the proposed fuel tax.

    He said: “TUC is against any law that will increase the pump price. Let them find other ways of raising money and not through transferring government responsibility to poor Nigerians. We shall resist it.”

    The position of the TUC was elaborated upon in a statement by Kaigama and Ozigi, who warned  the Senate against “further plans to impoverish Nigerians with the recent move to hike the prices of fuel, diesel, and even factor in other assorted charges and surcharges ‘to fund a Proposed National Roads Fund’.

    “The Congress is also against the proposed sale or reduction of the nation’s stakes in some oil and gas assets.

    “We are surprised that Nigerian lawmakers and other political office holders have become numb to our pains, agonies and miseries. This is painful.

    “For over two years now, the organised labour has called for wage increase without any reasonable step taken. What we earn when a bag of rice was N8, 000 is still our take home now that a bag of rice is N20, 000. How do we survive?  “Renowned writer, Williams Sharespeare, captures it right when he said, ‘When a beggar dies, there are no comets seen; the heavens themselves blaze forth at the death of princes.’

    “Nigeria is always broke when workers talk about improved welfare but rich enough to meet the needs of the greedy politicians.

    “Politicians are never in tune with the realities on ground because of their unchecked material acquisitive instinct.

    “They close their eyes to the increasing number of suicides cases and domestic violence in homes caused by pressure and poverty.

    “They seem not to be perturbed by the spate of armed robbery and the unbridled ritual killings by a group called Badoo in Ikorodu, a Lagos suburb.

    “It is shameful that all our leaders can think about this time of all times is fuel hike!

    “Precisely on September 5, 2016, it was reported that the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Sen. Sabi Abdullahi, said further increase in fuel pump price beyond 145 naira would translate to more hardship on Nigerians.

    “He blamed former Group Managing Directors of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporations (NNPC) for raising such issue as a solution to the challenge of the sector. We are surprised that the position stated above few months ago no longer holds water.

    “Well, the Congress hereby warns and calls on the Presidency and well-meaning Nigerians to prevail on the Senate and everyone behind the ungodly moves to drop them. “

    President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, dismissed the proposed tax as condemnable.

    He said the NLC would resist it.

    “How can they add to the economic burden of Nigerians?” he wondered before adding: “Most people cannot afford to pay their bills as we speak, and they are talking of increasing fuel price.

    “Rather than impose more hardship on the people, the political class should cut their bogus budget and expenditure in order to make money available to fund road rehabilitation rather than transfer the burden to the people.

    “We as organised labour would not allow such an action to sail through, because it is anti-people.

    “Increasing fuel price in whatever form will affect so many things and we say no to it. Government should be sensitive to the plight of the people in any decision making process, because people come first in any issue”

     

    Nigerians need a breathing space

    — Ogun Assembly Deputy Speaker

    The Deputy Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly(OGHA), Mr. Kunle  Oluomo, described the timing of the bill  as “inauspicious”.

    Nigerians, he said, “need a breathing space” and should not be burdened with fuel price hike at a time the country is just striving to get out of an economic downturn.

    He lamented that past mistakes that led to the phasing out of the toll gate system got Nigeria and citizens into the precarious situation they found themselves today regarding the parlous state of the roads and lack of funds for their maintenance.

    He noted that there ought to be a back up structure in place by way of income generation for road maintenance and that the toll gates system was supposed to fill that gap, but rued that failed to deliver effectively and efficiently.

    Mr. Steve Aluko, a director of Civil Liberties Organisation in Jos, said: “Any form of fuel hike at this point in time is inappropriate, insensitive and condemnable. It does not make sense to any reasonable person living in Nigeria.

    “The senate has not deemed it fit to improve  the standard of living of Nigerians.

    “Nigerians are already impoverished and they want to add insult to injury. This is  unacceptable to any reasonable Nigerian. It is against any moral consideration.

    “I will advise them to jettison the idea immediately. But if they go ahead to pass that fuel hike bill, it then means they are only interested in inciting the Nigerian public.”

    The  Plateau State chairman of NLC, Comrade Jibrin Bancir, said: “Any idea of a fuel price hike is absolutely unacceptable to Nigerian workers.

    “Nigerian workers and citizens are yet to recover from the harsh effect of the last fuel price hike, now the Senate is trying to introduce another hike.

    “This is going to be resisted by Nigerian masses. Let the Senate know now that they should rescind their decision.

    “The only bill that will bring relief to impoverished Nigerians now is a bill to reduce the current pump price of fuel.”

    Human rights activist in Ekiti State, Mr. Morakinyo Ogele, said the Senate should not contemplate any fuel increase ‘under whatever guise’ during this period of economic hardship.

    He said: “It appears our lawmakers have lost touch with the feelings of Nigerians who queued up inside the rain and sun to elect them into the offices they occupy today.

    “I want to ask: what do they mean by National Road Fund through which they are demanding extra N5 from petrol consumers? Don’t they appropriate money for road rehabilitation every year which runs into billions of naira?

    “Before considering the bill, did they consult with their constituents and gauge their feelings? These are some of the questions to ask them. But I strongly believe that no increase in the price of petrol will be acceptable to Nigerians at this period.

    “Nigerians are saying no to fuel price hike even by a kobo.”

    The Chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Ekiti State Council, Comrade Odunayo Adesoye, emphasised that another hike in pump price being considered by the Senate is an attempt to push a  bitter pill of suffering down the throat of Nigerians.

    He said: “Another fuel hike to raise money for National Road Fund is not desirable because we believe that with N145, they should be able to do everything they want to do.

    “This will inflict more hardship on Nigerians, especially the masses who are finding it difficult to buy a kongo of garri. FG should look inward to cushion the effect of suffering Nigerians are going through.

    “The prevailing economic recession is affecting all sectors. Proposing another hike is like adding more to their burden.

    “There is no policy that is implemented in Nigeria in a normal way. Our implementation is always faulty.”

    A former chair of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Kwara State, Comrade Emmanuel Aiyeoribe, said: “The Senate  should “perish the thought.

    ” Mere mention of the idea shows that our leaders and representatives are insensitive to the plight of the masses. They lack the milk of human kindness.

    “But we are ready for them. The masses and organised labour will resist that callous and rapacious move.”

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. John Baiyeshea (SAN), daubed it unwise and unreasonable at a critical time like this.

    “Honestly, it is like attempting to eat from the devil’s pot,” he said. “The end of it will be woes and catastrophe.

    “Who will deliver us from the hands of these dealers masquerading as leaders? They heap burdens on the people while they continue to feed fat on the nation’s resources through looting in the guise of bogus salaries and allowances.

    “Meanwhile, most Nigerians are dying of frustration, disease, poverty and unemployment. God deliver us from their hands.”

    Executive Director, Community Outreach for Development and Welfare Advocacy (CODWA), Comrade Taiwo Otitolaye said: “A hike in the  price of fuel at this period of national hardship is to further elevate the sufferings of the mass of our people.

    Abuja-based legal practitioner, Emmanuel Anyaegbunam, said: “Is this price increase being proposed going to be implemented outside the 2017 budget? There are several grey areas which they have not yet sorted out.

    “Besides, this is not how to represent the suffering masses during a recession.”

    Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa, former Governor of Kaduna State, said: “Since about five years ago, we have  known about plans by government to increase fuel price to about N250 per litre and for the naira to exchange at about N500 per dollar. We raised the alarm and discussed these plans five years ago; it is this same road that they are travelling down again.”

    Mr. Kayode Ajulo, Ex-National Secretary, Labour Party said: “The proposal for an increase in fuel price today is an idea that cannot work.

    “Statutorily, there is an agency of government that is in charge of decisions about changing of fuel price; if legislators want to do anything about the price, it becomes illegal.

    “Besides, the suffering across the country is now too much and government has not been able to do anything significant. Increasing fuel price now is like trying to break the camel’s back.”

  • No plan to hike petrol price – NNPC

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Wednesday said the recent increase in bridging allowance to transporters from N6.20 to N7.20 per litre will not lead to increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, from the prevailing price of N145 per litre.

    The Chief Operating Officer, Downstream operations in the NNPC, Mr. Henry Ikem Obih, said there was no plan by government or any of its agencies to review the pump price of petrol above N145 per litre.

    He said the rise in the bridging cost was achieved after an adjustment was made in the “lightering expenses” from N4 to N3 per litre and the difference transferred to compensate for the cost of bridging within the same template.

    Obih was quoted as saying in a statement issued by NNPC Public Affairs unit as saying “what happened, in simple language, is a rebalancing of the margins allowed and approved for stakeholders. So what the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) did was to take N1 from lightering expenses and add same to the bridging allowance. That is how we arrived at N7.20. Therefore, PMS remains at the ceiling of N145 per litre.”

     

  • Showdown over ’likely’ fuel price hike looms

    Showdown over ’likely’ fuel price hike looms

    There are speculations that the Federal Government is planning to increase the pump price of petroleum products, particularly, Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol. But labour has vowed to resist such move, warning that any increase in the price of petrol will result in dire consequences, reports TOBA AGBOOLA.

    A major confrontation between labour and the Federal Government is imminent.
    The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN), including the Trade Union Congress (TUC), are set for showdown over alleged plot by the Federal Government to increase the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol.
    Indications that the two labour unions in the oil and gas industry may soon be on collision course with the Federal Government emerged a few days ago when a wave of panic buying of petrol hit some states across the country. There were reports that major petrol stations, including the retail outlets of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had jerked up their pump prices from the official price of N145 to N149 per litre.
    The Minister of State, Petroleum Reources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, promptly dismissed the claim, insisting that the Federal Government never announced any change in pump price. He reportedly said later that the government would undertake a review of the pricing template for petrol to forestall a further increase in its pump price.
    Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, also issued a statement in Abuja, denying the report of any pump price increase. “The price is still within the band of N140 and N145 per litre approved on May 11 (2016) by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), the statutory body in charge of petroleum products pricing,” the statement read.
    He assured marketers and motorists of the Corporation’s readiness to continue playing its statutory role of being the supplier of last resort and ensure energy security for the nation.
    The NNPC further confirmed the availability of over 1.6 billion litres of petrol in the country that would last for 45 days.
    “There was no time the NNPC management met the President to push for a hike in the pump price of petrol to N150 per litre,” Muhammad insisted.
    The Group Managing Director, NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Kacalla Baru, through the organisation’s Chief Executive Officer, Downstream, Henry Ikem-Obih, also denied any plans to increase the pump price of petrol.
    Baru’s position was also supported by his counterpart at the Nigeria Petroleum Marketing Company (NPMC), Mr. Farouk Ahmed, who said his organisation had no intention to double the travails of Nigerians.
    According to Baru, the landing cost of petrol to marketers is N123 per litre just as Ahmed assured that NPMC would ensure availability of fuel at all its retail outlets across the country.
    He, however, lamented that the organisation could not do much to reduce the price of kerosene and diesel since the prices of the products have been deregulated and affected by the current foreign exchange (forex) palaver.

    Marketers seek N165 per litre
    Despite assurances by the NNPC and NPCM that an increase in the price of petrol was not on the table, petroleum marketers are said to have proposed a new pump price of N165 per litre for petrol.
    According to the oil marketers, the present price of N145 per litre is no longer sustainable because of the scarcity of forex to finance fuel importation.
    The marketers claimed that in May 2016 when the price of petrol was reviewed from N97 to N145 per litre, the exchange rate was based on N285 to a dollar, but from June last year till date, the exchange rate had been fluctuating between N305 and N490 to a dollar.
    The marketers, therefore, proposed N165 per litre to cover the cost of forex required for products importation.
    “The recent appreciation in the price of crude oil at the global oil market is another argument favouring the upward review of petrol in Nigeria. The gradual increase in the global oil price impacts the pump price since most of the local fuel consumed locally is imported. Crude oil is refined and imported into Nigeria from other countries, which made the business to be dollarised,” the markerters argued.
    He said despite this, the PPPRA keeps assuring the public that the existing price band of N135-N145 per litre was still okay, therefore, there is no basis for increase in the pump price of petrol.
    Similarly, the NNPC, the oil markerters said, equally assured that there is no immediate plan to increase the pump price of petrol.
    Meanwhile, the price of petrol had reportedly gone up from N145 to N155 per litre in Kano State. The situation is said to have partially shut-down Kano city, with transporters almost doubling fairs.

    Oil workers kick
    NUPENG and PENGASSAN, both under the umbrella of NUPENGASSAN, have warned against any proposed hike in the price of petroleum products.
    According to the unions, the harsh economic condition caused by recession does not support any price increase.
    In a communiquĂ© signed by PENGASSAN President Comrade Francis Johnson, NUPENGASSAN said: “We believe that this is not the right time to review the pricing template of PMS due to the following reason: the country is currently consuming about 40.32 million litres of petrol daily. Prior to now, marketers used to import 70 per cent of petrol while NNPC imported 30 per cent. The major challenge now is that NNPC is the sole importer of petroleum products.”
    The union argued that recession is biting hard on Nigerians hence, any attempt to further review the template will further impoverish ordinary Nigerians, as the additional price will be transferred to the end users of the product.
    The union , however, advised the Federal Government to give forex concessions to oil marketers to enable them import petroleum products and make their margin. This, according to the union, will resolve recent fuel price crisis.
    The union said forex concession should be given to oil marketers to make it easy for them to import petrol into the country so that they can make profit and keep their workforce.
    “We also call on the government to reduce the sundry charges by government agencies such as Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), including storage charges. This will go a long way to push down the landing cost,” the union added.
    NUPENGASSAN also identified inefficiency as a big challenge. It noted that lightering expenses, which accounts for about N5.08k per litre is an example of such transfer of inefficiency to the consumer. It pointed out that if mother vessels were able to berth on the wharfs that sum would have been saved.
    Johnson said the current margin of N2.00 per litre for storage charge was also inexplicable, adding that there is an urgent need to repair the dilapidated roads scattered across the country, where tankers use for distribution of petroleum products.
    “We suggest that operators of illegal refineries in the Niger Delta should be assembled and trained on better refining. This will create meaningful jobs for them and reduce dependence on imported fuel,” he said.
    The union also suggested that government should block loopholes and abuses in the charges during the collection of petrol imported into the country.
    In addition, the union advised government to set up a Pipelines Protection Agency (PPA) that will guarantee adequate and safe products supplies from the refineries to the various depots in the country.
    “The moribund NNPC depots must be reactivated. The PPA will be saddled with protection of the pipelines throughout the country, with sensors, alarms, well-trained personnel with helicopters and gunships that have night visions to police the right of way,” he added.
    While insisting that the time is not right to review the pricing template of petrol due to the current harsh economic climate, Johnson argued that doing so will further impact negatively on the economy, which the government is trying to pull out of recession.
    “PMS is a stable product in Nigeria and if there is any increase in its price, it will definitely drive up the inflation index. Nigeria depends on the PMS for not only transportation, but to generate power for either home or industrial use, especially the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which can jumpstart the nation’s economy,” he said.

    TUC warns of consequences
    The TUC has also warned the NNPC not to attempt another hike, saying, doing so will result in dire consequences.
    The TUC, in a statement jointly endorsed by its President and Acting Secretary-General, Bobboi Kaigama and Simeso Amachree, condemned the idea, saying the statement credited to the Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Department of NNPC, Mr. Mele Kyari, that “the nation’s harsh business environment may make it difficult to sustain the current pump price of petrol,” was highly insensitive, describing it as an open invitation to anarchy.
    According to the union, “Congress is surprised that the management of an organisation as important as the NNPC, regularly contradicts itself, with members speaking from both sides of the mouth.
    “The offices of the Minister of State for Petroleum Reosurces and Group Managing Director of the Corporation had earlier said the current price is not sustainable, but assured that there is nothing to worry about.”
    This comment by Kyari, TUC noted, corroborates the general suspicion by members of the public that they were already nursing the idea even at a time Nigerians have been stretched beyond acceptable limits. It warned that the revolution that will follow any further increase will not spare those behind the touted increment.
    “Ours is a country of paradoxes; we export crude and import refined products. Our refineries are still producing far below installed capacity, even with all the reforms said to have been done by this administration. Sadly, all efforts of the organised labour to help by advocating speedy passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) have hit the rocks. The only antidote consistently offered by our NNPC big-wigs to the challenges in the oil and gas sector is fuel hike. Very unfortunate,” TUC said.
    The union warned that it would not tolerate inflicting more pains on Nigerians.
    TUC said: “We kick against closure of more factories and we hold the government responsible for insecurity, crime and other vices. They should stop telling us they feel our pains when all they do is to make it worse!.”
    While urging the Federal Government to discard the idea, the TUC said: “We wish to warn and remind all those proposing the ill-advised move that in 2012 the ruling party, then, in the opposition, had told the world that there was no subsidy on oil. We therefore, wonder where this magical “subsidy” that is now being withdrawn by the government came from?
    “We reject the increment because it will translate to unbearable increase in the cost of living in all spheres of life. Failure to adhere to the voice of reason will lead to serious industrial crisis.”

    NLC reacts
    However, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged its members and Nigerians to disregard the speculations that the Federal Government was planning fuel price hike.
    Speaking with The Nation, NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, said it was not true that the Federal Government was planning anything of such. He said there was a recent meeting between labour leaders and government officials where it was agreed that there would be no fuel price increase.
    “We had a formal meeting in which the marketers, labour union leaders and government officials attended. And government has given us its commitment that there would be no fuel increase. So, I don’t believe in that,” Wabba said.

  • TUC decries call for fuel price hike

    The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has decried alleged call by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for  an increase in the pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS).

    In a release signed by TUC National President Comrade Boboi Kaigama on Tuesday, the union said: “Our attention has been drawn to the recent call by the management of NNPC for an increase in the pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS) from N145.

    “It is annoying that the call came even when the Federal Government is yet to fulfil its promises and agreement reached with organised labour during the protest against the last price hike in May, this year.

    “In case the management of the NNPC has forgotten, the economy is in crisis and life has become very difficult for the common man who now can hardly afford two square meals per day”.

    Kaigama went on: “The minimum wage could no longer purchase a bag of rice,” adding that businesses were shutting down, leading to millions of job losses. This has led to increase in crime and other vices.

    “If all the members of the NNPC team can offer as recipe to containing the scourge of economic downturn is to increase the price of petroleum products, then they are not fit to manage the sector and should throw in the towel.

    “If the country had other sources of Foreign Exchange (forex) or produced most of what it imports, the economy would not be what it is now,” Kaigama pointed out, asking: “What stops the government from building more refineries and diversifying the economy?”

    He said the Federal Government should maintain some stability in

    forex rates, taking into cognisance  that Nigeria was an import-dependent economy.

    Kaigama said the implications of refining outside the country were enormous. “If you are refining outside, you must pay for cost of transportation, insurance and port charges, etc. We just cannot continue to toe the same line,” he said.

    The TUC boss said the Congress would resist any hike in the price

    of petrol if that’s what it would take to get the government into thinking out of the box.

  • Govt: no fuel price hike

    Govt: no fuel price hike

    Kachikwu, Baru: nothing like that

    The Federal Government has no plan to increase fuel price, despite the dwindling fortune of the naira, two officials said yesterday.

    Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu and Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Maikanti Baru doused the tension building up following the suggestion by former NNPC Group Managing Directors (GMDs) at the weekend.

    Baru and the ex- NNPC GMDs, after what was tagged a strategic meeting on sustenance of availability of fuel amid the forex crisis,  said the  N145 petrol pump price cap would have to be lifted to avoid acute scarcity.

    The group noted that allowing the pump price to remain at that peg might lead to a crisis, including  a resurgence of  huge subsidy which could cripple the economy further.

    Kachikwu and Baru spoke separately with reporters at the State House after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Baru, who was the first to come out of the meeting, said “there is nothing like that”.

    Kachikwu, who came out 15 minutes later directed reporters to speak with Baru and when told that Baru had declined comments said there was no memo before the Federal Government asking for a review of the price.

    Last month, oil marketers pushed for the liftig of the N145 petrol price cap because of the scarcity of foreign exchange to finance import.

    The Federal Government on May 11 began the liberalisation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry when petrol price increased from N86 and N86.5 per litre to a N145 cap. Importation of products was liberalised. The policy effectively ended the long queues. Some marketers sell the product below N140 per litre.

    The chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, also yesterday took a swipe at Baru and his predecessors over their call for further increase in the pump price of petroleum products.

    Senator Abdullahi (Niger North) cautioned the Federal Government against heeding the call, especially when Nigerians are groaning under severe economic hardship.

    He described the oil chiefs as “enemies of Nigerians and the government”.

    The lawmaker, who said that he was speaking in his personal capacity, noted that it was obvious that the ex- NNPC GMDs contributed to bringing the country where it is today.

    “The NNPC as an institution was expected to be the life wire of this nation. As we have all known, refineries that we have in Nigeria have not been functional because if they had been functional and if that institution had been up and doing in tandem with its peers in other countries that have similar resource endowment like ours under the directorship of these former GMDs, we wouldn’t have been in this mess.

    “All the problems we are having is as result of what all these people who have assembled now to be the wise men and to tell us what should be done


    They do not have the moral standpoint to even advise us on what to do because they had a hand in it. I cannot see how you can solve a problem under the same condition that created it. They are more or less acting as enemies of the people and even the government they are advising.

    “As far as I am concerned, maybe they were sent to destroy this government and as far as I am concerned we would not allow them to do that”

    Abdullahi noted that President Muhammadu Buhari and his economic team were doing their best to turn things around for better.

    He insisted that if supported by Nigerians, the government would succeed to turn things around for the good of the country.

    But the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) said it will resist any attempt by the government to increase the petrol price, adding that the NNPC management is not fit to manage the oil sector.

    In a statement signed by its National President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama and Acting General Secretary Simeso Amachree, the congress said the statement by ex-NNPC chiefs calling for an increase in the price of petrol from N145 was an act of provocation of Nigerian workers.

    The TUC said it was sad the call came when the Federal Government is yet to fulfil its promises and agreement reached with organised labour during the protest against the last hike in May.

    It said: “In case the management of the NNPC has forgotten, the economy is in crisis and life has become very difficult for the common man who now can hardly afford two meals per day. The present minimum wage can longer purchase a bag of rice.

    “Businesses are shutting down, leading to millions of job losses, which of course have accentuated increased cases of crime and other vices. If all the members of the NNPC team can offer as recipe to curtail this scourge of economic downturn is to hike the price of petroleum products, then they are not fit to manage the sector and should throw in the towel.

    “If the country had other sources of forex or produces most of what it imports, the economy would not be what it is now. What stops the government from building more refineries and diversifying the economy?

    “The Federal Government should maintain some stability of forex, taking into cognisance the fact that Nigeria is an import-dependent country. The implication of refining outside the country is enormous: if you are refining outside you must pay for cost of transportation, insurance and port charges etc. We just cannot continue to tow the same line.

    “The economy is already on its knees, and it is our thinking that the priority of government now should be how to salvage the situation through other creative and resourceful avenues, such as: downwardly reviewing the cost of governance, creating friendly business environment and jobs, diversifying the economy, setting up an economic team that would creatively fashion out modalities to navigate the stormy waters of recession.

    “If persons in government feel our pains as it claims to do, then the news that people are already exchanging their children for bags of rice should prick their conscience.

    ”The Congress will resist further hike in the price of petrol if that is what it will take to get the government into thinking out of the box. We do hope it doesn’t get to that.

    “We urge the government to fulfil its promises for which it set up the joint Governemnt-Labour Committee to determine a new more economically realistic national minimum wage and proffer ways by which pains of the last increment can be ameliorated.”

     

  • No plan to hike fuel price, say Kachikwu, NNPC GMD

    No plan to hike fuel price, say Kachikwu, NNPC GMD

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru, on Monday denied plans to increase the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as petrol.

    They spoke separately with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The meeting followed the reports that a meeting of former GMDs of NNPC had recommended increase in fuel price, claiming that the current price is no longer sustainable.

    Baru, who was the first to emerge from the meeting, was pressed by correspondents for comments but he declined and referred journalists to the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).

    Asked if there will be a review of the price, the NNPC GMD dismissed the journalists, saying: “There is nothing like that.”

    But Kachikwu who came out about 15 minutes later directed journalists to speak with Baru on the matter.

    When told that Baru had declined comments on the matter, Kachikwu said there was no memo before the Federal Government asking for a review of the fuel price.

  • Fuel price hike: FG inaugurates panel Thursday

    Fuel price hike: FG inaugurates panel Thursday

    … Ngige heads panel

    The Federal Government will on Thursday inaugurate a technical committee set up to look into Labour’s grievances arising from the increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) as well as examine other consequential and/or ancillary matters thereon.

    The committee, according to a statement from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, will be inaugurated by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), David Babachir Lawal, by 3:00pm at his office in Abuja.

    The composition of the committee included members from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and Government Representatives.

    The members from the NLC are – Comrade Peters Adeyemi, Comrade Amaechi Asugwuni, Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel, Comrade Igwe Achese and Segun Efan.

    The TUC members are – Augustine Etafo, Alade Bashir Lawal, and Abdullahi Sale.

    The Government Representatives in the committee included the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, who will serve as Chairman, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachukwu and Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma.

    Other members from the government team are – Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Chairman, National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, Chief R. O. Egbule and a representative of Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, while Prof. Adamu Kyuka Usman representing the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, will serve as Secretary.

  • After a successful fuel price hike

    Last week, on this column, I weighed in on the side of the government over the disputed fuel price hike. I still believe the painful hike was inevitable. But I was amused when I listened to the Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami SAN, give the impression that obtaining an injunction against the disorganised labour strike from the National Industrial Court is a big issue. It is not, and never has been. The reason is simple. Under the Labour laws, going on a lawful strike is a near impossibility, as the lawmakers gave strenuous conditions for a lawful strike. So, what the labour unions do is to include immunity from prosecution as a clause for a ceasefire.

    Thankfully the strike has been called off, following a meeting between the labour leaders and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the national leader of the ruling party, the All Progressive Congress. But before the call off, the strike was wobbling and fumbling, so NLC should thank Asiwaju for the mercy killing of a failed strike. However, there should be no excitement that the strike failed, after all, the challenges ahead, is for all Nigerians. The Minister of Labour Senator Chris Ngige, and the federal government that he represents, instead of gloating, should rather appreciate the enormous expectations from Nigerians, who have shown an unprecedented willingness to make huge sacrifices.

    So, with a successful hike in fuel price, meaning more resources for the government and greater socio-economic disequilibrium for the common man, the federal government would now have no reason not to roll out its other economic policies, to stimulate our economy that is reeling in deep recession. Or is it just possible, as I have been inundated with, that like under the previous governments, the new hike in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol, is an end in itself? That is, as we had experienced in the past, a mere opportunity for the government to increase its revenue base, while it continues on the same trajectory that will bet another increase in price, few months from now?

    I honestly hope that there are plans afoot by this government to get the Nigerian economy back on track, within a few months. Otherwise, the excitement on the faces of government officials that they have been able to divide the labour union and frustrate the strike action may not last. If the government is not aware, then they should better be informed that life in Nigerian, for many, is becoming unliveable. While I am not an economist, it is very strange that while there is a paucity of expendable income, inflation is at a galloping rate.

    The prices of basic food items have in many cases doubled, in the last few months, even as many are broke. The joke out there is that tomato has become costlier than apple, and Nigerians are making a huge fun of it on the social media. The same strange hike has happened to the price of garri, a basic staple for many Nigerian families. Now if these basic locally produced food items have become so expensive, one can imagine what is happening to a substantially imported staple, like rice. As one junior colleague said to me recently, it won’t be long before people walking on the streets will just drop dead because of unbearable hardship.

    The poverty in the land is seen everywhere. Whether you talk to artisans, traders, professionals or civil servants. The common language is the lack of income to pay for basic needs. Many homes have been unable to pay for their accommodation, and the government has no alternative for the homeless. Most artisans have no patronage, and where services are rendered, the patrons have no money to pay for services. Civil servants who have taken basic food items on credit, from retailers, and borrowed from relations to pay for school fees, have only tales to tell, as their salaries remain unpaid.

    Professionals, like lawyers, journalists, doctors, engineers, accountants and the like, who render services for fees, have all been groaning. With businesses comatose, it is either they render services on credit, or they remain idle. Their challenges are compounded by the lack of electricity to power their offices and basic equipment. Without resources to pay for services, many Nigerians resort to self-help, or patronize quacks. The challenge is more grievous in the health sector, where lack of money to pay for professional services lead many to resort to self-medication, with all its grave consequences for the individual and the larger society.

    Small and big businesses are also sacking their employees. Whether in the oil industry, banking or construction, the laying off of workers have become the standard, instead of exceptions. Every other week, the media is awash of the decision of big companies that should be expanding, rather announcing their decision to lay off thousands of workers. The small scale businesses are even worse off, with the factors of production, particularly electricity unavailable, and where available very epileptic. Those engaged in trading have never had it so challenging, as their daily pilgrimage to their shops have become an exercise in futility.

    With many fathers out of work, and several mothers’ small scale businesses extinguished by unfavourable business environment, the family arena in many homes has turned to a dangerous playground. Disposed fathers who are unable to adjust to the status of failed-men, seek out and possess boxing gloves to duel their disconsolate wives to death. Wives who have no patience for the admonition, until death do them part, resort to prostituting to fend for themselves and their desperate children. Children sent away for non-payment of school fees, and forced to stay at home and indoors, to fake wellness, are quietly growing into scoundrels, soon to be unleashed on the society.

    Perhaps the government of PMB still has its magic hidden somewhere. Perhaps the government would soon come up with an encompassing economic policy that would put many back to work and productivity. Perhaps PMB would raise an economic team that would rival the best, anywhere in the world. Perhaps very soon the release of the capital vote, from the much hoped-on budget, would get the economy booming again, as the capital projects, galvanises the comatose economy. Perhaps the banks, oil companies, construction companies and many others would soon start hiring the legion of unemployed graduates, who still rely on their parents, many years after their graduation from the universities and polytechnics.

    If for whatever reasons, the government fails to provide the much needed reinvigoration of our beleaguered economy in few more months, just as the Nigerian Labour Congress has been unable to successfully mobilize Nigerians to protest against the hike in fuel price, then the government leaders and the labour leaders must brace up for the consequences of a failed nation. Let nobody be deceived, the reason why many Nigerians are not in the streets, demonstrating against the fuel hike, is because while labour has comprehensively failed them, for many years, the present government has only been around for just one year. I guess, we must all pray for God to help PMB and his team to turn our fortunes for the better, before it is too late.

     

     

  • Why we pulled out of strike, by NLC faction, NUPENG

    The Joe Ajaero-led faction of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on Friday said they refused to join the nation-wide strike called by the Ayuba Wabba-led NLC because the Federal Government responded to their demand to arrange a meeting with stakeholders.

    At a press conference in Lagos addressed by Ajaero and NUPENG president, Achese Igwe, the labour leaders said strike would have been the last option if talks with the government had failed.

    Ajaero said his faction of the NLC held productive talks with the government, including the agreement to set up a panel on palliatives to cushion the effect of the petrol price increase.

    According to him, both factions of the NLC could have worked together on the strike, but, according to him, the Wabba-faction walked out of a meeting with the government, insisting that the Ajaero faction must not be part of it.

    “If not for the unfortunate incident that happened that day, maybe we would have been together. Maybe it’s an ego thing,” Ajaero said.

    Besides, he said before a strike action is declared, a 21-day ultimatum ought to be given, not three days.

    He called for transparency in the management of the palliatives, saying the refineries should be fixed or new ones built while more jobs must be created.

     

  • NLC to Saraki: The strike continues

    NLC to Saraki: The strike continues

    The president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba and his team, on Friday met for over 40 minutes behind closed-doors with the Senate President,  Bukola Saraki, to discuss the ongoing nationwide strike called by labour to protest the fuel price hike.

    Wabba, told reporters after the meeting that the strike which enters third day on Friday will continue until the Federal Government resumed talks with the NLC under his leadership.

    He told the Senate president that the apex labour union is ready to resume negotiation with the federal government on the matter if invitation is extended to their members.

    He denied reports that labour leaders walked out on the government’s negotiation team on Tuesday night.

    Wabba said, “We are trying to engage government in negotiations essentially about the trade issue, but importantly about the increase in the pump price of PMS from N87 to N145 and we have assured the Senate president that at no point the union leaders walked out on the government.

    “In fact when those issues were presented and the position of government was made known to us, we did not actually agree and we requested that we excuse them. “