The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) yesterday said it will not support the planned removal of subsidy on petroleum by the federal government, which it said amounts to ₦1.3 trillion.
This is as the association said revolution like what happened in some Arab countries recently is inevitable in Nigeria if the federal government goes ahead with its plan to remove subsidy on petroleum.
The NBA said that the point that only a few moguls benefit from the existence of subsidy is not an argument for its removal since the gain from the removal which will be transferred to the federal and state governments will not be accounted to the public.
Addressing journalists in Kaduna, president of the association, Joseph Daudu asserted that despite the ₦1.3 trillion the present administration claimed to spend on subsidy, there has not been any corresponding increase in the supply of petrol.
He advised government to evolve or design a seven year staggered phased removal of petroleum subsidy, even as he noted that government must implement the deregulation of the downstream sector as conceptualized by the Obasanjo administration.
According to him, the four existing refineries in the country must be completely reactivated and production commenced in optimum capacity.
“The moguls will continue to thrive as the funds gained by politicians in government are merely transferred to be borne by poor hapless Nigerians. Government appears adamant in the quest to removal of subsidy. The people are equally resolved in its opposition to the removal of subsidy. Nigeria is up for rough times ahead. The time has come for a final determination whether those in government derive their power from the people or whether they are independent and owe their stay in power to their entities than the people”.
According to him, “we foresee a victory and liberation for the people of Nigeria, while pushing for deregulation in the present form will depart with more than a bloody nose.”
Daudu stressed that for the policy to work, government must first create strong institutions and structures within the sector that will ensure the success and sustainability of the policy. In his words,
“Though critics of the subsidy acknowledge that the policy will in effect open up the sector through new investment to competition which will cause efficient resource allocation and eventually drive down the price of fuel in Nigeria. Government must realize that actualizing the policy depends deeply on patience and constant re-evaluation of the process.”
While challenging government to disclose the profit made by the liquefied natural gas sector over the years, the NBA president said in order to promote transparency in the petroleum sector, government should abide by the Freedom of Information Act by disclosing the names and companies that are importing and distributing petroleum products.
Other positions of NBA are that government should made public the cost of subsidy paid over to these persons and other benefits enjoyed by them such as import duty waivers and tax holidays.
Mr Daudu added that government needs to adopt exceptional strategy to minimize the effect of corruption saying that “with that monster at large in Nigeria, no policy of government will succeed. There must be total re-orientation of the attitude of the people to corruption”.
He observed that the continued retention by PPPRA reveals the premature and rather hasty nature of the decision of government to remove petroleum subsidy, pointing out that government must repeal the provisions of sections 3 and 4 of the Petroleum Act which prescribes the vesting of exclusive rights to issue licenses for the establishment and operation of refineries and distribution of petroleum products.
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