Sam Ikeotuonye
Lagos – The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, has spoken against the plan by the Federal Government to remove subsidy on the Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, otherwise known as petrol, as from July this year.
The union said in a communique released at the end of its national executive council, NEC, meeting in Lagos, that its leaders and members were not necessarily opposed to the removal of fuel subsidy, but were of the opinion that before embarking on the removal, the Federal Government should ensure the local refineries in Warri. Kaduna and Port Harcourt are fully functional before such action.
The communique, signed by the union’s President Prince Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, partly read: “NEC-in-Council also examined the recurrent discussions for the removal of subsidy from the Petroleum Motor Spirit, PMS, and expresses deep concerns over the failure of the Federal Government to do the needful as advised by organised labour that deregulation of the PMS should not be predicated on importation of the product because of all the obvious negative impacts on the socio-economic life of the people and nation in general.
“The council-in-session expressed disappointment in the failure of the government to deliver on its promises of making the three national refineries work before contemplating the removal of the subsidy on this very important economic item in view of the enormous implication and the impact on the economic activities and considering the socio-economic importance of PMS to ordinary Nigerians.
“The NEC-in-session reaffirms that in as much as our union is not averse to the removal of PMS subsidy, the Federal Government must ensure that our local refineries are put into full operation before a such major policy decision is taken in the interest of the generality of Nigerians.”
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, also recently spoke in this vein, saying the removal of fuel subsidy should happened only after the nation’s refineries in Warri, Kaduna and Port Harcourt have been fixed to operate at optimum capacity.
IPMAN chairman in Rivers State, Dr. Joseph Obele, stated this while speaking to newsmen in Eleme, near Port Harcourt, but explained that fuel subsidy removal will end product scarcity in the country.
Obele lamented that the Federal Government was spending so much on subsidising petrol and urged the government to channel such spending on other social programmes in the country, such as healthcare and agriculture.
He also accused the government of paying lip service to the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery.
“In the 2023 budget, the budget provision for fuel subsidy ends by June. Probably by July, fuel subsidy will be fully removed.
“Few months to the end of fuel subsidy, fuel prices will fluctuate, but, three to four month later, it will be balanced.
“I charge Nigerians to see that we all support the removal of fuel subsidy. Last year, 2022 alone, we spent over N9 trillion on fuel subsidy, out of N16 trillion that was total budget for 2022, on one single commodity.
“We can subsidise education, agriculture and food, but, not fuel. So, we in IPMAN, we support the removal of fuel subsidy but it should be at the right time,” he stated.
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