Adaobi Rhema Oguejiofor
The General Secretary of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Comrade Lumumba Okugbawa, has urged the Federal Government to reduce hardship on Nigerians due to petrol subsidy removal by using savings that will accrue from it.
Okugbawa, who said this in an interview with journalists, expressed that it is a good thing that the government has finally removed fuel subsidy and it is a welcome development that was long overdue. He however noted that there was need for the government to consider the average Nigerian and properly utilize the savings in order to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal.
According to him, before the removal, the government was putting a lot of money into subsidized fuel and some people benefitted from the subsidy because of the loopholes, adding that it will not be a surprise that those at the top, as well as powerful individuals were the ones benefitting from it, as there are lots of leakages in the system.
In his own words, “fuel subsidy has long been the subject of abuse and corruption. It also encouraged smuggling into neighbouring Cameroon and Benin, where fuel can be sold for twice the price, and even more, as international oil prices rise.
“Within days of subsidy removal and the adjustment of petrol prices in Nigeria, data from Global Petrol Prices, which tracks the retail prices of refined petroleum products, revealed sharp increases in petrol prices in Nigeria’s neighbouring countries.”
Okugbawa maintained that in many parts of Nigeria, petrol is diverted to the black market before it is even delivered cheaply to the pump and because Nigeria’s refineries are barely functional, the country is forced to sell its unprocessed stock on the global market and import the refined fuel it needs for domestic consumption.
“However, now that the government is no more subsidizing the product, what matters is the management of the money realized from the removal. What is the government using the proceeds for? This is very important. What is of interest to us is that more jobs will be created and we expect that whatever that will accrue from subsidy removal will be actually used for what it is meant for and not that politicians will unbutton their trousers while the rest of us tighten our trousers.
“We also hope that by the time the Dangote Refinery starts full operation, it will have a positive impact, most especially in price reduction. The Refinery is a very good investment. However, it has a debt to pay because people funded the refinery and he has profit he is looking forward to. So, in view of this, we are going to settle him in naira or dollars. But it’s a good development for us,” he stated.