By James Orji
Nigerian Senate President Ahmad Lawan has disclosed that the federal government is yet to take a final decision on the planned removal of petrol subsid. Lawan spoke after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Tuesday.
Recall that the Minister of Finance and Budget Zainab Ahmed, said last year that the fuel subsidy regime will end by the middle of 2022.
As part of the plan to end the regime of subsiding petrol the minister said some Nigerians will be paid N5000 monthly to cushion the effects of the removal.
In response to the federal government decision, Nigerian workers under the aegis of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC has put Nigerians on alert of an impending nationwide strike if the Buhari administration goes ahead with the plan. The labour union has fixed February for a warning strike.
Some watchers of events in the country said the Senate President’s decision to consult President Buhari on the matter, could be out of the apprehension that any labour strike at the moment could distabilise the country.
Speaking after he met with the president, Lawan said the purpose of his visit is to convey the concerns of Nigerians to Buhari on the issue, adding that the National Assembly is seriously concerned that removing petrol subsidy now will throw the country into chaos.
He said the lawmakers “are very concerned with the recent agitations, protests and many citizens were so concerned, our constituents across the country are very worried that the Federal Government will remove the petroleum subsidy. And for us as legislators representing the people, this must be of interest to us.And we’ve just finished our recess, we had gone home to our constituencies and senatorial districts.
“We felt the pulse of our people. And I found it necessary to visit Mr President, as the leader of our government and our leader in the country, to discuss this particular issue of concern to Nigerians. I’m happy to inform Nigerians that Mr President never told anyone that the petroleum subsidy should be removed.
He said government must not transfer the burden of its inefficiency on hapless Nigerians.
According to him, “I know, and I agree that the subsidy is hefty. But I think we must never transfer the burden to the citizens. We need to look at the quoted figure of maybe 100 million litres that people claim we’re consuming. Is it real? I mean, is it either under recoveries or subsidy? Is it 100 million litres per day? How on earth are we consuming that?
“We need to look at this critically and see how we can find the truth. This is because I am not convinced that within the boundaries of Nigeria, we are consuming 100 million litres. Probably neighbouring countries may benefit from this. Can’t we do something about it?”
He explained that President Buhari has yet to give express approval for the removal of subsidy.
“I’m telling you, what I know from my discussions with Mr President, and I don’t want to go beyond that kind of understanding.
“He didn’t tell anybody that we should remove petroleum subsidies. And those of us who represent the people know how people are already stressed over and over again, this is going to kill everyone if people don’t say what we know is going to be too much for them.”
“So, I want to commend Mr President that he didn’t order anybody to say that petroleum subsidy will be removed, even though we know it’s a burden. So it’s now our task, as an administration, we must find a solution. Let’s go and lock ourselves somewhere,” Lawan said.
Meanwhile, the labour unions said on Tuesday that some conditions must be met before subsidy can be removed. The National President, Trade Union Congress, Quadri Olaleye, who said the problems in the downstream sector is “solely due to the incompetence and corruption of the government,” said the establishment of modular refineries and construction of functioning refineries in the country must first be accomplished before deciding on subsidy removal.
