By Lateef Adegbite
When former President Goodluck Jonathan increased the pump price Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popula, Petrol, in 2012 to to N97 .00 per litre, , from N87.00 per litre the then Opposition All Progressive Congress, APC, now the ruling party, had cashed on it to turn the heart of the people against the people’s Democratic Party for bad governance. They had their way.
Lai Mohammed, a political ally of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos state and APC , Presidential aspirants for the 2023, general elections and other critics, had turned the heat against the Jonathan Administration for increasing the pump price of petrol at a time a barrel of oil in the international oil market was $100. President Muhammadu Buhari , a retired Army General, had cashed in on it to tell Nigerians that the PDP , government, was spending between N800 million and N1.3 trillion as fuel subsidy yearly but the making the products available even at regulated prices.
Lai Mohammed, minister of Information and Culture,who may have spoken the mind of President Mohammed Buhari, a retired Army General, had given a yearly breakdown of the amount spent on fuel subsidy . According to him, the then former President Jonathan’s government had spent N3.7 billion in 2011, on fuel subsidy, N2.2 billion in 2012 and 2013 while it spent N2.5 billion in 2014
Recall that critics who had worked closely with the APC Propagandists had cashed in on the 2012, increase in the pump price of a litre of petrol could with the high level of insecurity in the country to turn the table against the Jonathan’s Administration and coupled with the high level of insecurity in the country, to turn the table againstthe former President Jonathan, forcing Nigerians to vote for change Presidential elections as Buhari.
Many had expected that the Katsina state born Nigerian President would make complete departure from the Jonathan Administration in the managent of fuel price. Unknown to many, the retired Army General, who listens to the advice of Hajia Zainab Ahmed, the minister of Finance, Budget and National Pnning and Mele Kolo Kyari, Manating Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, now baptized, Nigerian Ntional Petroleum Company, NNPC, with the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, by the National Assemby in 2021, which had unbundled the Corporation. Instead, the country has moved from fire to frying pan as the pump price of price of fuel had been increased more than three times by the Administration as it sells between N165 per litre to N187 per litre, depending on the filling station.
The Finance minister may have shocked Nigerians when she revealed that under the Buhari Administration in 2021, that fuel subsidy alone , gulps N150 billion monthly. She had given hint that the government would remove the subsidy when she noted that Nigerians does not benefit but the Marketer who buy the subsidized fuel from Nigeria and sell I in in neighbouring West African countries of Niger, Benin Republic and Chad , including the Central African country of Cameroon.
She had said that this is the money which the Federation Account , Federal and state governments forgo , which ought to have been used ‘’to fund education infrastructure, health and reduce the country’s external borrowing. She had given the impression that if the fuel subsidy is removed and shared to the states, it will reduce the crisis of not being able to pay monthly salaries to Civil servants in their respective states.
Mele Kolo Kyari, Managing Director , NNPC, had said that that the fuel subsidy removal would be achieved in 2022, as it was backed by Law adding that the price of a litre of petrol may range between N320 and N340.00 per litre from February 2012.
He had said that a litre of Petrol is currently selling at N165 .00 per litre because the government is subsising it. Reall that NNPC had reported that the daily petrol consumption of petrol in Nigeria is about 90 million litres.
In spite of pressures on the Nigerian President to remove fuel subsidy from several quarters, including the International Monetary Fund, IMF, Temipre Silyva, a former governor of Bayelsa state and now minister of state Petroleum Resource may have made Nigerians to believe that that he is not in support of the removal of fuel subsidy.
He had said that part of the reason why the government may not contemplate option of removing the fuel the subsidy on petrol is because of ‘’the impact it will have on Nigerians’’. Recall that NNPC had tested the waters to push for the removal the petrol subsidy by accusing Duke Oils, MRS Oil, Oando Oil and Emadeb Consortium, (Hyde, AYMaikii and Britania-U),as being responsible for the importation of the off-spec fuel in the country in 2021.
The Presidency may have had a rethink to push for a complete removal of the fuel subsidy as advised by the IMF and other interested parties, when the Hose Committee on Petroleum Downstream, exonerated the four companies after its investigations as they were found not to have committed andy offense and therefore not recommended for suspension. The Committee was said to have asked the Kyari controlled NNPC ‘’to maintain the local supply and distribution of the 90 litres daily across the country until normalcy is restored’’.
The Committee members were said to have also asked Sylva, the minister of state , Petroleum Resources, ‘’to expedite the action for completion of the rehabilitation work and ensure upgrading of the PortHarcourt, Kaduna and Warri refineries, which have a total refining capacity of 445,000b/d to meet AR15 specification to boost local refining and reduce the country’s over –dependence on importation.
The House Committee on Petroleum Downstream were said to have also called on the Buhari government for the adoption of the 2017, PMS Standard (NIS 116:2017), as approved by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, which includes testing for Methnol for future importation of the product into the country,
The retired Army General may have known that Nigerians are waiting for him to take his next line of action as regards the fuel subsidy removal. Moreso, he may have considered the advice of the Lawmakers not to remove the subsidy as very timely. He may have reasoned that with the 2023, general elections around the corner that removing the petrol subsidy will work against the party that he had made a U-turn in his policy decision.
Perhaps, this may have informed why he has requested the Ahmad Lawan, led Senate ‘’to increase fuel subsidy payments in 2022 to N4 trillion from N2.72 trillion. He had justified the increase in fuel subsidy payments to the suspension of the fuel subsidy removal.The Senate may have given approval to the Prsident’s request after considering the report of the Committee on Finance on the Revised 2022 Fiscal policy framework.
The Senators who are more concerned about their re-election bid in the 2023, general elections, were said to have also approved the President’s reques ‘’to raise the oil price benchmark in calculating the 2022 budget from $62 per barrel to $73 and the reduction of projection oil production volume from 1.883 million to 1.6 million b/d. The suspension of the fuel subsidy removal by the Buhari led APC, Government, according to informed sources was a ploy by the party to win the heart of Nigerians as it is still in their agenda to do so if it it wins the 2023, general elections.
