Date Published: 10/16/09

Sir,

Oil deregulation: Another cage of gunpowder

With the impending remove of ‘subsidy’ from the petroleum products consumed locally, the federal government is courting trouble for itself. We are just trying to come out of the ASUU strike and the militancy in Niger Delta, albeit all still fragile.

To start with, no one has ever come out in clear terms to inform Nigerians that the fuels they are consuming are subsidized. Fuels include Petrol, Diesel, Kerosene and Gas.

Reading Chief Niyi Akintola SAN in the Sunday Champion October 11, 2009, where he proffered sacrificing some leaders in order to move the country forward, I seem to share his belief. He opined that the duplication functions in the oil industry have made fuel to cost more for home consumption. He therefore concludes that there is no subsidy to remove. Can one know why we have Ministry of Petroleum, have NNPC, have DPR, and have NASPIMS, etc all doing just oil related work. By the duplication of functions, corruption is created and the total cost of running them passed on as overheads. Then while trying to arrive at the rate at which to sell to Nigerians products that God freely gave to them, cost factor creeps in. Remove those duplications; you will discover no subsidy on petroleum products would exist.

Another area I agree with Chief Akintola SAN, is where he queried who benefits from the sham called TAM (Turn Around Maintenance) of our refineries. Billions of Naira are paid out yet we send our crude oil to western world and import again from there as finished products; at what price and why must that be forced on the masses as part of the so-called subsidy.

Yes, until we deal decisively with our leaders – past and present – we shall continue to take one step forward and many backwards. I plead with the federal government never to increase the fuel used by the masses; this is a warning.

Right now queues have started building back at filling stations in Abuja so also in Port Harcourt and some of the other big cities just for hinting removal of subsidy. Ironically, the Senate that suppose to be representing the masses, shamelessly, has endorsed that the “unfounded subsidy” should be removed.

 Biodun Bashiru Lati, Solomon Lar Way, Utako District, Abuja