Buhari should suspend fuel subsidy removal, declare marketers
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has announced that, following its NEC meeting, it will announce NUPENG’s position on the ongoing discussion surrounding the proposed elimination of the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, or gasoline.
However, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, another significant union in the industry, opposed subsidy removal and emphasized that the action should be suspended because the administration of President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) did not provide the necessary conditions for subsidy removal.
While speaking with our correspondent over the phone in different talks, NUPENG and IPMAN were both responding to the stance taken by their sister union, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria.
PENGASSAN requested that the Federal Government stop subsidizing gasoline and hasten the renovation of Nigeria’s refineries late last month.
Festus Osifo, the president of PENGASSAN, made the statement while addressing the media at the association’s National Executive Council meeting in Abuja.
When asked if PENGASSAN supported the elimination of fuel subsidies in the absence of any operational domestic refineries, Osifo responded, “Yes!”
However, when asked about NUPENG’s stance on the matter, its National President, Williams Akporeha, quickly responded that the association agreed with the Nigeria Labour Congress on the subsidy discussion and that the NEC of the union would need to convene.
Akporeha responded to PENGASSAN’s stance on the elimination of subsidies by stating, “He (Osifo) took that choice following his NEC meeting. So that we may present our own perspective, we will also conduct our NEC meeting.
“However, our position is still the same with that of the NLC. We don’t have a separate position from NLC. But again, my NEC will give further directives on that.”
The NUPENG president stressed that the union would not make any official positions public until the meeting took place, even though he did not specify when his executive council would convene.
When informed that various groups had stepped up calls for a halt to the regime, while certain NLC officials had recently opposed the elimination of subsidies, Akporeha responded, “I just mentioned something previously and I will repeat it.
“The position of the NLC has always been NUPENG’s position. We don’t have separate positions on this matter. But we will still hold our NEC meeting on this issue.”
Speaking on the subject as well, IPMAN Chief Ukadike Chinedu, the national public relations officer, said that while the association praised Buhari for intending to maintain subsidies till his departure, his administration did not offer the conditions necessary for their removal.
“IPMAN commends the administration of President Buhari for considering not to remove fuel subsidy before handing over on May 29, 2023. As the National PRO of IPMAN, we are in support of the fact that the current administration should not remove subsidy.
“This is because the factors that should necessitate the removal of subsidy have not been put in place by this outgoing administration. Our obsolete refineries should work and our pipelines should be repaired in order to move petroleum products from riverine areas to dry lands.
“From there, marketers can be able to load products as quickly as possible to their filling stations without travelling long distances. These are the factors that will aid the smooth transition to a no-subsidy regime,” Ukadike stated.
According to him, once refineries are operational and the Dangote Refinery is operational, it will stop the importation of petroleum products and act as a brake on high prices.
“As independent petroleum marketers, we are the ones who feel the impact on the masses most. So the haste for subsidy removal by the outgoing administration will cause unnecessary hardship and tough times for the in-coming administration.
“So our position as IPMAN is that the issue of subsidy removal should be suspended and the incoming administration should be allowed to handle it,”he stated.
Ukadike said IPMAN had earlier discussed with the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, as marketers made it clear that “he (Tinubu) should ensure the provision of factors that will necessitate smooth transition to the no-subsidy regime.”
The IPMAN official added, “All of us agreed that it must be put in place before the subsidy is removed. Also, his excellency, represented by Adams Oshiomhole, agreed with us, and assured us that the incoming administration will look at it.”
He claimed that while there are palliatives available to lessen the impact of subsidy loss, this is not the fundamental issue facing marketers.
“We acknowledge the issue of palliatives by the Federal Government, but it is not our main problem. Our main problem is for the government to ensure that the refineries are working and the pipelines are restored,” Ukadike stated.
