Subsidy removal: Sanwo-Olu begs NLC to shelve proposed strike

 

.Says Govs are collaborating with FG to mitigate hardship

.Tinubu working on palliatives — APC USA

. Rights group condemns policy, says it’s ill timed

 

By Phil Okose, Onitsha and IBRAHIM QUADRI

Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Sunday appealed to the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) to shelve its planned strike, saying Governors are already discussing ways to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal.

Governor Sanwo-Olu said Nigerians should support President Bola Ahmad Tinubu in his effort to revamp the economy.

The governor made the appeal at the 2nd Term Inauguration Thanksgiving Service of Governor of Lagos State and Deputy Governor at the Cathedral Church of Christ Marina, Lagos, noting that the issue should not be turned into a political matter.

 

Sanwo-Olu said, “I want to plead with our cituzens even has NLC wants to go on strike. It is not time to go on strike. The point is during the campaigns, every presidential candidate, all of them said that the first thing is to remove subsidy. So what has changed? What has the President done different from other candidates.

 

“We need to be patient, we should not turn this thing to political (matter), let’s wait. At the sub-national level, we are ready to support him. The point is, the strike will not solve problem. We are going to ensure that there is a turnaround in our economy,” Sanwo-Olu stated.

 

Recall that the State Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat had on Friday during an on-the-spot assessment of some filling stations in the Ikoyi area of the State, cautioned citizens against patronizing black marketers.

 

Speaking to journalists during the exercise, Dr. Hamzat said there is no need for panic buying and hoarding of fuel as marketers have assured the government of the availability of fuel in the state.

 

He noted that the essence of the tour was to go around and see the situation of things, noting that the challenge is not the scarcity of fuel but the price that has increased.

 

Hamzat implored Nigerians to embrace the deregulation, adding that the advantage of the subsidy removal outweighs its effects.

 

He said: “In terms of volume, according to the managers of fuel stations visited, we have enough so there is no need to rush to buy. There is no need to patronise black marketers.

 

“The regime of fuel subsidy was announced to have ended. Lagos is always the epicenter of everything, 40 percent of cabs are in Lagos, and whatever affects PMS, affects Lagos. So the essence is to go around and assess the situation.

 

“For us, it is to make sure that there is no scarcity, people don’t need to rush. Prices have gone up but in terms of volume, there is enough volume. So there is no question of scarcity.

 

“Don’t patronise black marketers. The bottom line is very simple because there is no regime of fuel subsidy again. People don’t have the incentive to hoard anymore. It was sold for N185 in Nigeria and the Republic of Benin selling for N650, that is why we claim the volume is high, so the volume will crash.”

 

Hamzat added that revenue generation has been a major challenge in the country, noting that the recent subsidy removal, would afford Government the opportunity to divert the funds to other sectors.

 

Citing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the Deputy Governor reiterated that the fuel subsidy is not sustainable, noting that the subsidy benefited less than 13 percent of the entire population while 87 percent were left out.

 

He said: “There are 48,000km of borders in Nigeria, even if you deploy the military, the Navy, people will steal because we are talking of market, we are subsidising fuel for other countries.

 

“Various commentators and IMF have told us we are spending trillions subsidising substantially rich people because we are spending on 13 percent of the less privileged and 87 percent for people who can afford it. It doesn’t make sense.

 

“So if we can plow that money back, then it makes it easier to invest in education, health, and others. So the President will be able to harness it and be able to use it for various projects.”

 

The Deputy Governor also noted that the government is aware of the effect of the removal because it will affect transportation prices and commodities but in the long run, things will get better.

 

“I understand that the transportation fares have gone higher but the only thing is that it will get a little tougher before it gets better. Remember, the prices in Lagos will be different from Ibadan. And even in Lagos, because of efficiency, prices will differ but you are not subsidising anybody’s inefficiency.

 

“It is a question of time, in just two or three months, things will stabilise. So, if the international prices crash, they will also crash. Competition will always make it crash, market forces will determine the prices,” he said.

.Tinubu is working on palliatives — APC USA

Prof. Tai Balofin, Chairman APC USA, on Sunday in Abuja said Nigerians should trust President Bola Tinubu to work out palliatives to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal.

He said this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), adding that the challenges that came with the development would soon be over.

He, therefore, appealed to Nigerians to be patient with Tinubu’s administration on the removal of fuel subsidy, adding that it was all in the country’s interest.

NAN reports that President Tinubu on May 29 while delivering his inaugural speech, said the Federal Government could no longer sustain fuel subsidy.

By the removal of fuel subsidy, petroleum pump price is now fixed at N540 per litre as against N195, a development the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said it was opposing.

The NLC had said it would embark on a nationwide strike on Wednesday to force government to reverse its decision.

The congress cautioned that it would not go back on its decision to down tools if government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited failed to reverse the increase of the price of petrol to its earlier price.

“I just want to plead with all Nigerians to be patient and have an understanding of the situation,” Bolofin said.

The APC USA chairman, while appealing to Nigerians to be patient with government, said though they resided abroad, they felt the pains of Nigerians.

He added that Nigerians in the Diaspora could perfectly relate to the pains Nigerians were passing through back home.

He expressed confidence that the Federal Government under Tinubu was working a way round the situation.

“I trust that the president will put some measures in place to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal so it does not go overboard,” he said.

Balofin, however, explained that in other countries, especially in the United States, the cost of fuel ranges from $3.40 to $3.50 per gallon when compared to what we buy in Nigeria.

“Again, the important thing is that if there is fuel, even if it is expensive, it is going to balance the equilibrium as soon as possible.

“But I trust President Tinubu is a strategic person who knows what to do and how to manage Nigerians and resources. I believe we will start enjoying the benefit any time soon,” he said.

He added that the decision to remove the subsidy was collectively taken by stakeholders, including members of the House of Representatives who had gone through the rudiments of the removal.

He said it was therefore, the responsibility of the lawmakers to appeal to Nigerians about the positive impact of the removal.

Also, Mr Tunde Doherty, a chieftain of APC U.S.A, said the United Kingdom did not pay subsidies on its petroleum products.

He described petrol subsidy as an ‘infectious enjoyment’ that had been allowed to thrive for too long in Nigeria.

“We have to be very factual and truthful to Nigerians at the start of this regime, fuel subsidy has not helped us in any way.

“Rather it has become a kind of infectious enjoyment in Nigeria because the determinant of pricing is the marketers.

“Now that there is no subsidy, I agree that it might be very difficult for people at this time, but I can tell you that President Tinubu is in charge of the situation.

“Within the next few months, he will cushion the effect of what Nigerians have suffered,” Doherty assured.

He said, in the United Kingdom and the United States, prices of petroleum products were not equal because there was no subsidy anywhere.

“In the UK today, we have Costco Oil selling for £1.3 and we have Sabre (Oil and Gas) selling for £1.7. So it is a liberalised economy with petrol.

“We cannot continue to let Nigerians suffer, we have to start by telling them the truth about oil subsidy. It does not take us anywhere. It is just pretentiously putting us in a future we cannot predict.

“There is no subsidy where we live in the Diaspora and we enjoy fuel, we have never experienced fuel scarcity. The time for us to enjoy that Renewed Hope is here,” Doherty stressed.

.  Rights group condemns policy, says it’s ill timed

A human rights group, Human Dignity Restoration Association, (HDRA), Sunday, in Onitsha, Anambra State, condemned in strong terms the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu, saying that it was ill timed, as it was unexpected and no alternative as improvise provided to cushion the effect on Nigerians.

Condemning the removal, the National President of HDRA, comrade Jude Achebe, said that, “It’s still impromptu as far as social  welfare is concerned. Section 14(2) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 declares that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. In this declaration, the security and welfare of the people are conjunctively presented as a sole purpose.

“Accordingly, the primary purpose of government is seen as one but it has two interwoven limbs, namely: the security of the people and the welfare of the people. Notably, the deployment of the adjective “primary” in the said constitutional declaration suggests that the security and welfare of the people shall be the main or principal purpose of government in Nigeria.

“Failure of the government in this primary purpose will give birth to, if not tantamount to failure of the government in every other

purpose because without the accomplishment of the primary purpose, the accomplishment of every other purpose of government shall be baseless and meaningless,” he stated.

In a press release signed and issued to newsmen by the HDRA Director, Media team, comrade Remigius Nnaemeka Amadi, on behalf of the National President, the group lamented that the issue of petrol subsidy has lingered so long that people have forgotten that Nigeria was once a net exporter of refined petroleum products.

“Various administrations had been accused of using it as a straw or even pipe to suck the country dry. It has been suspected to become an easy cash cow and conduit for successive governments,” he further explained.

The HDRA boss stated that removing premium motor spirit (PMS)subsidy without certain policies and activities that ought to precede it will amount to direct attack on the lives and well being of Nigerians, warning that harsh economic situations can kill as fast as atomic bombs.

He lamented that aside the great hardship it would bring to Nigerians, most of whom already lived beyond the poverty line, the government has done almost nothing to prepare the nation for the new regime of removal, hinting that the past administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, spent more than N2 trillion on Social Investment Programme (SIP).

 

” Yet, an estimated 133 million Nigerians, according to statistics, have sunk into multi dimensional poverty, just as another 24.2 million people face acute food insecurity.

“Subsidy removal is good but should not be removed without any alternative. Before removing subsidy government should improvise for balance welfare of the people. Fix about four refineries we have already, other local refineries recovered from criminals should be upgraded to functional refineries since they can refine those one called kpo fire in local parlance.

“People should know when it will happen in advance. Because of how long fuel subsidy has been with us, HDRA would advocate a minimum of two years’ notice and before then alternative welfare of the people are guaranteed.

“During the period, government efforts on the programmes to improve options for affordable transportation, healthcare, education,employment and the like, should be accelerated and should form part of a robust communication strategy that helps to prepare the citizenry for such a major change in policy and its potential impact.

“The past administration failed woefully to address subsidy in its eight years, hence the practice has become the bastion of corruption in Nigeria. Various administrations have gotten used to using it as a straw or even pipe to suck the country dry. It has become an easy cash cow and conduit for successive governments.

“The security and welfare of the people should be the primary purpose of the government. The government should fix the nation’s refineries and make them functional to ensure that Nigeria does not only depend on importation of petroleum products.

“Any government action that is detrimental to the lives and welfare of the people should be discouraged,” he posited.