More CSOs support fuel subsidy removal
Removal of subsidy funding by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is garnering more endorsements across the country.
The latest endorsement came from Citizens Voice Against Corruption (CIVAC) a platform of many civil society organizations and professional bodies.
They urged both the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC ) to support its removal.
A statement issued by CIVAC’s National Coordinator, Abdulrazaq Alkali in declaring its support for fuel removal condemned in the strongest terms what it called “the hypocrisy of some Nigerian political figures.
The statement recalled that both major candidates in the last presidential election made promises to remove fuel subsidy if elected president, but are now blaming president Tinubu for doing what they promised to do for Nigerians.
CIVAC also urged Nigerians not to partake in the planned strike by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) against the removal of fuel subsidies by the Federal Government.
“Any confrontational action in this regard can be described as misguided, unwise and self-defeating” the group said.
CIVAC called on the leaders of NLC and TUC to rise up to their duties and stop playing to the gallery “or the books of some elites who are benefitting immensely from the petroleum subsidy. NLC and TUC needs to get their acts together by putting the future and survival of Nigeria first”, it cautioned.
The CSO warned that “the intended strike and protest will put a halt on the operations of government offices, banks, shopping centres and schools, transportation workers and will also significantly affect the informal sectors including markets and local transportation services”.
This, it said will cause untold hardship on Nigerians and have significant damaging effect on an already struggling economy.
CIVAC in its statement said “paralysing the country of more than 200 million people, majority of the citizens live on daily wage will be highly irrational”.
“Considering the delicate security situation in the country, it will be of great concern that grieving politicians, provocateurs and anarchist can hijacked the strike to stage protests and demonstrations, or hide under the cover of protestors and promote discord, anarchy and unleash mayhem to the detriment of public peace.
“We have all witnessed how criminal elements hijacked the End SARs protest and the amount of looting and burning that took place, while turning into tribal violence and killings in some states.
“Similarly, politicians and other interests beyond the implementation of the deregulation policy can hijack the national protest to derive personal and selfish agendas. It is thus imperative for NLC and TUC leaders to avoid putting Nigeria in such delicate security situation”, it said.
Explaining the implications of higher oil prices, CIVAC said this will result in high government earning, more spending on education, health, infrastructure, poverty alleviation etc.
“Unfortunately, that is not the case in Nigeria, as the high profit margin earned from high oil price is largely swallowed by petroleum subsidy.
“If NLC and TUC leaders are not in terms with the proposed stoppage to paying petroleum subsidy despite the glaring evidences of the failure of the scheme, they can explore other avenues to prevent high petroleum price in the country” CIVAC advised.
According to the group, “one important option is to engage with the government to find a more suitable solution. For example by putting pressure on the government to revamp the four national refineries (in Kaduna, Warri and Port-Harcourt) which can play a significant role in easing the pressure on our forex reserve thus strengthening our currency.
“A strong Naira and local refining capacity will make the petroleum products cheap even without subsidies.
“In addition if these refineries are revamped, hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs will be created, thus creating a multiplier effect in the fight against poverty and the growth of our economy”, it said.
