The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said Nigerians will reject any attempt to increase the price of petrol under the guise of fuel subsidy removal, reiterating that any price increase will not be forced down the throat of Nigerians.
According to LEADERSHIP Sunday reports, fuel queues has resurfaced over the weekend in various parts of the country, with markets being accused of deliberately hoarding petroleum products.
The resurfacing of the fuel queues is not unconnected with recent reports that the federal government plans to remove petroleum subsidy. NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, while reacting to the report, said Nigerian workers would reject any subsidy regime.
Wabba described fuel subsidy as a form of corruption and payment for the inefficiency of the nation in the oil industry. He said, “Let me tell our country and our government that certainly, they should be weary of IMF and their advices.
This is because I saw that many media houses are trying to amplify that the IMF has recommended that subsidy should be removed. In the first instance, is there subsidy? This is a question we have not been able to answer.
“And I want to collaborate with what President Buhari said years back that subsidy is actually corruption and that whoever is subsidising is aiding corruption and we stand by that position.
In fact, that has remained a consistent position of NLC. “We can kill that issue of subsidy if we refine our products for our domestic use and it is not rocket science.” He said that the solution to fuel subsidy was to ensure that the four refineries in Nigeria were working, stressing that Nigeria can get the refineries working again if the government shows political will to do so. He said, “Nothing is wrong with our refineries, it is just conspiracy. Refineries can be upgraded from one capacity to another.
The four refineries we have, if serviced and upgraded, can service our population and the entire West African countries. But because it pays more for corruption tendencies, that is why we prefer importation than refining our product for domestic use. So, clearly, this issue should be situated.”
Meanwhile, LEADERSHIP Sunday reports that following rumour of fuel scarcity, various states government have deployed monitoring teams to petrol stations to check hoarding of the product.
In Edo, the state government and oil marketers have warned residents in the state not to engage in panic buying as adequate arrangements have been made to ensure supply of the products, especially during the Easter period.
The state commissioner for Minerals, Oil and Gas, Joseph Ugheoke, gave the warning at the weekend after a meeting with executives of the state chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) in Benin.
“Ondo Government has vowed to sanction any petrol dealer that attempts to hoard petroleum products especially Premium motor Spirit (PMS) in the state.” Senior Special Assistant to Gov Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on Special Duties and Strategy, Dr Doyin Odebowale, gave the warning in a statement issued in Akure, yesterday.
“It is against this backdrop that the government warns, sternly, all petrol dealers in the state to desist from any unpatriotic acts which may inflict pains on the people. “We, on our part, will resist and sanction any untoward practice, conceived and/or executed, to engender hardship in the state.” Ekiti State government has also deployed monitoring teams to several petrol stations in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, that have closed shop to motorists and residents willing to buy petroleum products in their stations.
LEADERSHIP Sunday gathered that the development followed the rumour making the rounds that the federal government was allegedly planning to totally remove fuel subsidy.
The suspicion has caused long queues in all the few stations selling the product as motorists engage in panic buying. Our checks showed that, situation is the same in most towns and villages of the state as some fuel stations had closed shop since Wednesday.
