As the reality of the Federal Government’s fuel subsidy removal begins to hit Nigerians across the country, LEADERSHIP investigation has revealed that worst hit, for now, are the millions of travellers who departed their immediate zones (duty posts and homes) for their various villages spread across the various states to celebrate the Yuletide season.
Our checks indicate that the New Year day ‘gift’ to Nigerians from the government has left a sour taste in the mouth of the travellers, leaving many stranded in their villages.
But as travellers, commuters and the generality of Nigerians continue to groan under the heavy yoke of the subsidy removal, the Presidency, has finally and formally admitted to have deregulated the downstream sector.
It said the tough decision was in the interest of the people and not an ambush on Nigerians.
Reacting to the allegation that Nigerians were “ambushed” by the PPPRA announcement which removed fuel subsidy with effect from January 1, 2012, Presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, defended that the Federal Government had prepared the minds of Nigerians long before the announcement was made.
He said, “I have told people that it is quite unlike government laid ambush for the people. This particular announcement had been foretold. Government had prepared the peoples’ mind that in 2012, there will be no subsidy on PMS. The thing has been discussed on the radio, in the market and has been a topic in the public place.
“One thing you will know is that leadership is not about populism. Sometimes, leaders have to take some very tough decisions in the interest of the people because people are used to a certain kind of reality. It is natural for one to resist it, but we believe that once it is clear that this is done in the best interest of the people, even those that are opposing it now either for mischief or partisanship will see the wisdom in the action”.
Urging labour unions to keep to the agreement they had with government, Abati said, “I hold that Labour will hold on to its promise that it will support whatever government does in the interest of the Nigerian people because Labour was consulted. I attended those meetings with Labour and I know that at that meeting there were clearly some understanding reached.
“Well, to the best of my knowledge, PPPRA is an agency of government and I do not think that PPPRA will act unilaterally in violation of its enabling Act. The President has spoken again and again that there will be deregulation of PMS in 2012. We are in 2012. It is consistent”.
But many of the travellers who spoke with LEADERSHIP said they were “shocked and surprised at the suddenness of the subsidy removal,” and lamented that they were now trapped in their villages because of the over 100 percent increase in transportation cost and purchase of fuel occasioned by the subsidy removal.
Several holiday makers who had travelled to celebrate the Christmas and New Year holidays with their loved ones, admitted that they had expended so much money while at ‘home’ during the celebration and only reserved their transportation fares, but which can no longer take them back to their duty posts.
However, even as the effect of the deregulation of the petroleum downstream sector, which now allows marketers to sell at prices favourable to them bites harder, the price of a litre of fuel has risen to N250 in several parts of the country.
This is contrary to the directive given by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) that all marketers must sell the product within the benchmark price to be published on its website fortnightly.
The PPPRA in a statement announcing the removal of subsidy, had informed service providers in the sector that they “are now to procure products and sell same in accordance with the indicative benchmark price to be published fortnightly and published on the PPPRA website,” which as of Thursday, December 29, 2011, was N143, being expected pump price for a litre of fuel.
This benchmark price is expected to be reviewed upward or downward, two weeks from day of publishing, depending on international market variables, such as cost of crude, landing cost, among others.
But reports from across the states yesterday ranked Enugu State as having the highest selling price of the product. Petrol sold for N250 a litre in the state. Lagos ranked next, as the product sold for between N140 and N200 a litre, diesel, N155 while kerosene sold forN130. In Kaduna and Niger states, petrol sold for N150 a litre, with power generation a little around 4,200mw.
Reacting to the development, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Levi Ajuonuma, told LEADERSHIP on phone that marketers who sold above the recommended price will be sanctioned by the PPPRA.
Ajuonuma explained that as a regulator, the PPPRA is comparable to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which overseas activities in the banking sector. “That is why the PPPRA and the DPR were recently strengthened… the industry needs to be regulated, otherwise, people will just sell as they like,” he said.
He noted that the PPPRA’s price template is in line with international standard, arrived at, after a worldwide consultation, and with all market indications factored in.
“Within the benchmark price is the landing cost plus all added cost, so no marketer can claim to have imported fuel at a cost more than what is obtainable in the PPPRA’s benchmark,” Ajuonuma said.
In Abuja, a litre of fuel yesterday sold for between N138 and N142, with the NNPC Mega Stations selling at the lowest price of N138, while Eterna filling station sold at the highest price of N142 for a litre of fuel.??
When contacted, the National President, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Aminu Abdulkadir, said, he was unaware of any marketer who sold above the current PPPRA’s benchmark of N143.
He however assured that marketers will hold a stakeholders’ meeting tomorrow to deliberate on the PPPRA’s benchmark price of fuel with a view to reaching an agreement on whether or not the price is sustainable.
“We will have a stakeholders’ meeting tomorrow with the PPPRA to review the template. By tomorrow, after looking at the template we will know whether the marketers will agree on it or not. But to the best of my knowledge I don’t know of any marketer who sold above the N143 a litre,” he said.??
However in the face of mounting criticisms against the deregulation, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday appointed Dr. Christopher Kolade as Chairman of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme Board. Major-General Mamman Kontagora (rtd.) is the Deputy Chairman of the Board.
LEADERSHIP had on December 5, 2011, exclusively reported that Kolade will oversee and ensure the effective and timely implementation of projects to be funded with the savings accruing to the Federal Government from subsidy removal.
President Jonathan has also appointed former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Alfa Belgore (rtd) to head a high-powered committee to meet with organised labour and all other stakeholders with a view to resolving issues that may arise from the removal of the subsidy on petrol.
Abati noted that the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme Board will also include two representatives of the National Assembly, two representatives of organised labour, one representative of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), one representative of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, one representative of Nigerian Women Groups, one representative of Nigerian youth, one representative of civil society organisations, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy/Minister of Finance, the Minister of National Planning, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Minister of State for Health, the Special Adviser to the President on Technical Matters and six other reputable individuals from the six geo-political zones in the country, three of whom will be women.
The statement made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday night reads in part: “The mandate of the Board shall be to oversee the Fund in the petroleum subsidy savings account, and the programme specifically to improve the quality of life of Nigerians in line with the Transformation Agenda of Mr. President. The Board will have the following responsibilities: (a)? Determine in liaison with the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the subsidy savings estimates for each preceding month and ensure that such funds are transferred to the Funds’ Special Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria(b) Approve the annual work plans and cash budgets of the various Project Implementation Units (PIUs) within the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and ensure orderly disbursement of funds by the PIUs in order to certify and execute projects;(c) Monitor and evaluate execution of the funded projects, including periodic Poverty and Social Impact Analyses (PSIA)(d) Update the President regularly on the programme;(e) Periodically brief the Executive Council of the Federation on the progress of the programme; (f) Appoint consulting firms with international reputation to provide technical assistance to the Board in financial and project management;(g)? Appoint external auditors for the fund;(h) Do such other things as are necessary or incidental to the objective of the Fund or as may be assigned by the Federal Government.
Members of the committee to meet with organised labour, civil society groups and other stakeholders are: the Chairman of the Governors’ Forum, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State and Governor Sule Lamido of? Jigawa State.
“The Committee which is expected to begin work immediately also includes the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, the Special Adviser to the President on Inter Party Affairs, Senator Ben Obi and Mrs. Ngozi Olajemi”.
Speaking on the development, Dr. Chukwuemeka Eziefe, an economist and former Governor of Anambra State said, “I had proposed an alternative strategy that eliminates commercial importation of products and accompanying subsidy which also should not involve increase in pump prices of products and should boost economic development. I thought that outright removal of subsidy with immediate increase in pump prices of products would be seriously problematic. But the government has more information than I or any individual.
The fate of Nigeria is in the hands of God and we should all cooperate to maintain peace. “
Meanwhile, more than 400 anti-subsidy protesters were tear-gassed by the Police yesterday at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja. The protesters were on a peaceful demonstration to express their displeasure over the fuel subsidy removal.
The policemen from the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) also arrested four activists and a journalist. They include: Hon Dino Melaye, Comrade Eze Nwangwu, Comrade Mbaseke Martins, Nasiru Lawal, Kalid Ismail and a journalist with Daily Trust Newspaper, Mr Abdul Wasiu Hassan.
The protest was led by a former member of the Federal House Representative, Melaye who condemned the recent removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government.
He said: “The essence of this protest is to tell President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan that we Nigerians are against the removal of fuel subsidy. The president’s action in his own style of giving ‘fresh air’ to Nigerians by removing fuel subsidy on New Year Day has shown that the government is by the greedy and for the greedy. No amount of intimidation, blackmail and cajoling can stop us from championing this course.
“We will battle to reverse this situation, and it’s a battle of no retreat, no surrender. We will do everything possible under the ambit of the law to ensure we make this country ungovernable until the government listens and reasons. We are calling on the president to revert his decision before 12 am today, if not, he will know that power belongs to the people.”
In a related development, a group of angry youths have also staged a peaceful demonstration in Kano to protest the subsidy removal on fuel products, saying, it is a ploy to further make like difficult for them.
Leader of the protesting group, Aminu Yau Muhammad said they organised the peaceful rally to express their anger over the new policy which Nigerians must stand up to resist in view of its devastating consequence on their lives.
He said “What we want is a total reversal of the policy. We won’t accept any form of deception. No increase will be tolerated under any guise. We cannot fold our arms and watch a government become so insensitive to the plight of Nigerians”.
The youth procession started from BUK Road through the old city from where they marched to the state Government House in Nassarawa GRA, displaying placards denouncing the subsidy removal and condemning government’s decision.
The protesters who sought audience with the state governor, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso later dispersed after they were informed that the governor was away on an official engagement.
FUEL: How Marketers sell across states
Abuja?? ??????? N138 – N143
Niger??? ??????? N150 – N160
Kaduna?????? N150 – N160
Enugu ??????? N200 – N250
Lagos?? ??????? N140 – N200
Adamawa? N150 – N155
Ekiti????? ??????? N150 – 160
Kano??? ??????? N140 – N145
Benue? ??????? N150 – N160
Edo?????? ??????? N135 – N140
Delta ?? ????????N138 – N150
Kebbi?? ??????? N145 – N200
Bayelsa??????? N138 – N150
Zamfara????? N145 – N160
Katsina??????? N145 – N200
Nasarawa?? N141 – N160
Transport Fares At Jabi Motor
Park In Abuja
??????????????????????????????????????????????? Old??????????????????????? New
??????????????????????????????? ??????????????? Rate????????????????????? Rate
Abuja – Lagos (Bus)??? N3,500???????????????? N6,000
Abuja – Jos (Taxi)????????? N1,500???????????????? N2,000
Abuja – Okene (Taxi)? N1,800???????????????? N3,500
Abuja – Kaduna (Bus)??????????????? N1,100???????????????? N1,500
Abuja – Zaria (Taxi)???? N1,200???????????????? N2,500
Abuja – Lokoja (Taxi) N1,600???????????????? N2,000
Abuja – Aba (Bus)?? ????? N6,000???????????????? N8,000