From Godwin Tsa and Adanna Nnamani, Adanna Nnamani, Abuja, Tony John, Port Harcourt, Paul Osuyi, Asaba, Noah Ebije, Kaduna Chukwudi Nweje
Presidential candidate ofthe Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, has said although he supports the removal of fuel subsidy, it has to be done with a human face.
The issue of subsidy removal by government has been on the front burner in the county for years.
It formed part of the campaign manifesto of several presidential candidates during the 2023 general elections, including Obi and Alhaji Abubakar Atiku of the Peoples democratic Party (PDP).
President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of subsidy on petrol on May 29 when he took his oath of office as the 16th president of Nigeria, saying there was no allocation for it in the 2023 budget beyond July.
Shortly afterwards, the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announced the adjustment of pump price where NNPC filling stations were selling fuel at N537 while others are selling from N540 and above.
Obi, who spoke to newsmen in Abuja, yesterday, on the sidelines of the ongoing hearing of petitions challenging the February 25 presidential election at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), said though he had consistently maintained that subsidy was an organised crime, its removal must be done in such a way that it wont throw the people into untold hardship.
Obi, who clarified his stance on the controversial issue, yesterday, said his support for the policy dated back to the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan when he was a member of the Presidential Economic Management team.
He likened the subsidy issue to a person with toothache, saying the problem was not just with the removal of the bad tooth but how it was removed.
He said: “If you approach a dentist to remove a painful tooth, he will apply a local anaesthetic to numb the area around the tooth so you do not feel pain. It’s not the same thing as pulling the tooth forcefully; the pain you feel will be different. For me, I will go with the approach of the dentist while supporting the removal of the tooth because I wouldn’t want to go through the pain of forceful removal. Recall that even when Jonathan wanted to remove it they came up with various relieving policies like SURE-P (Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Program) and others. If you read my manifesto, you will see clearly how I planned to remove subsidy. I will govern with the people and show them statistically and empirically what we are getting and how we are deploying it. The problem in Nigeria is that when people say let’s go and suffer, let’s go and sacrifice, they don’t see the results of their suffering and their sacrifice.”
. Medical, dental practitioners back NLC
National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners has backed the demand by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) that the Federal Government rescind its decision on subsidy removal.
In a statement jointly signed by its National President, Sofiri Starson-Peterside Jr and National Secretary, Enobong Akpan, the union called on the Federal Government to urgently suspend the removal and revert to the old pump price to avert the looming multi-sectoral industrial disharmony that may grind the country to a halt.
The group also demanded that the country’s refineries be revamped to functional capacity as soon as possible while licences should be given for the establishment of more refineries to encourage local production of petroleum products.
The union called on government to institute measures to stop crude oil theft, secure the borders and stop leakages within the oil and gas sector.
It also called for urgent government intervention on the health sector by ensuring at least 15 per cent budgetary allocation.
•Subsidy ruined Nigeria over the years –Kokori
Former labour leader and ex-secretary general of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Frank Kokori, has said the removal of subsidy from petroleum products was long overdue.
He contended that subsidy payment by the Federal Government over the years has ruined the country. He also faulted the organised labour for initially declaring strike and not giving the government enough notice.
“They were supposed to to give at least 14 days notice and with that the government will call you for negotiation,” he said.
Kokori said Nigeria was broke as a result of subsidy payment and insisted that few individuals were feeding fat from the system. He said N500 per litre on PMS was the cheapest pump price in Africa.
“There is no country in Africa that does not sell fuel for up to $1 per litre. They have killed Nigeria with subsidy. What did we gain from it? Nigeria is owing the entire world and we are servicing loans with all the money that we have.”
•Removal favours poor Nigerian -Northern group
For the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) fuel subsidy removal is in the interest of majority of poor Nigerians.
The group said without removing the subsidy, only few privileged Nigerians would continue to enrich themselves with billions of dollars from it.
In a communique read by CNG spokesperson and Chairman, Communique Drafting Committee, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman at the end of a one-day town hall meeting of of NGOs and Northern stakeholders, the group urged President Bola Tinubu to hold accountable all those involved in smuggling, hoarding and subsidy scam regardless of rank or status in the society.
“We demand the Federal Government to urgently put in place measures to protect the rights of people most affected by the removal of the fuel subsidies and prioritize addressing widespread hunger, higher unemployment and the rapidly falling standard of living,” it said.
•OPC warn against protests in South West
Oodua self-determination groups has said if Nigeria does not kill fuel subsidy, fuel subsidy would kill Nigeria.
The groups at a press conference in Lagos, yesterday, commended President Tinubu for mustering the political courage to effect the fuel subsidy removal.
It urged him to in addition to effecting the subsidy removal also make it his administration’s priority to commit to restructuring of Nigeria into a true federalism and argued that the subsisting system of government under the 1999 Constitution was unsustainable.
It warned the NLC, TUC and other groups protesting against subsidy removal that it would not allow any form of anti-fuel subsidy removal in any part of the South West.
The statement read by Rasaq Olokoba, leader of Oodua Youth Movement (OYM), said subsidy has prevented the take off of the 20 private refineries licenced by the Federal Government save for that of Dangote because the investors found out that they could not recoup their investments in the subsisting subsidy regime at the time.