By Cross Udo, Abuja
Ahead of the January 27 protest across the 36 states of the federation over the planned subsidy removal that would lead to an increase in fuel pump price, the organised labour has threatened that it would no longer be watching the Federal Government inflicting pains and hardship on the workers.
Also, the former military head of state, Gen. Abudsalami Abubakar has warned the Federal Government to desist from increasing the price of fuel saying it would worsen poverty.
Consequently, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, yesterday said that its branches all over the country have adequately mobilised in line with the directive of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, for the protest next week.
This came just as the National Economic Council (NEC) yesterday also said that decision on the removal of the subsidy on petroleum will be made in June when the provision for its payment in the 2022 budget expires.
The council, which is chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has 36 state governors and the FCT minister, the Central Bank of Nigeria governors as well as some ministers that have to do with the economy as members.
But a former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, warned that any increase in the price of petrol resulting from subsidy removal will push more Nigerians into poverty.
Speaking at its 41st Regular National Executive Council, NEC, meeting at the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile Ife, Osun State, SSANU President, Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim, noted with regret that the government does not consider the pains the citizenry are passing through while taking its decisions.
Ibrahim said that as an affiliate of the NLC, SSANU would participate actively in the proposed protest.
According to him, “In the next few days, the Nigeria Labour Congress is mobilising all the Nigerian workers both formal and informal to protest this evil and very unpatriotic thought of removing fuel subsidy in Nigeria.
“We have it in good authority that about N200 will be added to the N162 or N170 depending on where you are buying as fuel price in Nigeria. This, Nigeria Labour Congress in which SSANU is an affiliate, totally rejects and will participate fully in this protest across Nigeria on the 27th of this month.
“The present Federal Government of Nigeria is not doing any better in its relationship with our labour unions. SSANU in particular is facing the most difficult period of its existence because our members are going through a lot in terms of hardship, in terms of denial.
“We have had a 2009 Agreement which is about 12 years down the line, just less than 40 per cent of that agreement has seen the light of the day. Even those that have seen the light of the day, they are coming in different forms and sizes that are not encouraging and not also friendly to our membership.”
•Economic council decide June
Meanwhile, NEC at its meeting at the presidential villa, Abuja, affirmed that since the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited is now a limited liability company, it must be run differently.
Fielding questions while briefing correspondents on the outcome of the meeting, the governor of Nasarawa state, Abdullahi Sule said it was understandable that the provision for the payment of the subsidy is made in the 2022 budget only until June.
Joined at the post-NEC press briefing by his Edo State counterpart, Godwin Obaseki, the Nasarawa governor stated that any decision on the removal of subsidy will be taken after the budget provision runs its course in June.
He asserted even though NEC has been having conservation on the matter, it was yet to take a position on it.
Sule explained: “I think in addition to that what you have to understand, we (NEC) didn’t make any presentations on this because there has not been a decision. But in reality, all of us Nigerians know that there is now the Petroleum Industry Act. And NNPC has now become, you know, a limited liability company.
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“So, NNPC will run differently. So, if the Minister of Finance, you know, provides (subsidy) for six months, you probably can understand part of the reason for the provision of six months before NNPC fully takes off, and at that moment, that’s when decisions will be made.
“But I want to correct that it is not governors who are making recommendations. It is an NEC committee, you know, which comprises of all the other people that are looking at this and no decision has been made and probably by the time a decision will be made, you know, the Petroleum Industry Act has fully taken charge, and it will not require any recommendation from anybody.”
Also responding to questions, Obaseki pointed out that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), which sells for N162-165 per litre in Nigeria, sells a hundred per cent higher in other countries.
He noted that the federal government was spending about N2 trillion on petroleum subsidy, an amount, he said could have been used for other purposes.
According to him, the NEC, therefore, wondered whether that should be allowed to continue in a situation where he observed only one-third of the states of the federation consume two-thirds of the subsidy.
The Edo governor stated: “As you all know and aware, the issue of subsidy has been one matter that NEC has deliberated on, for more than a year now. There was an ad-hoc committee, which was set up by NEC headed by Governor el-Rufai that included members of the executive arm of government that worked on recommendations as to what we should do about the costs of PMS locally because as you realize, as has been told us, the cost of PMS in Nigeria today is about N162 per litre.
“Whereas every other country surrounding Nigeria is selling the same product at more than 100% of the cost in Nigeria. And the country as of last year spent more than almost I mean, we need to have the exact figures, but we must have spent almost N2 trillion subsidizing petroleum products. That is money that could have gone into building roads, money that could have gone into healthcare and education.”
•Removal of subsidy, not governors business- Fayemi
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Kayode Fayemi, yesterday said the decision to remove or retain fuel subsidy is not in the hands of State Governors.
Fayemi made the remark during a press briefing after a meeting of the Governors.
The Ekiti State Governor said the forum has “concluded to engage the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress on how best to address this issue without causing any disaffection but with a view to salvaging the Nigerian economy for the Nigerian people.”
He, however, argued that the decision was not one for the governors to make.
“For us at the forum, it is a matter that is a going concern. We don’t have a definite issue on it because it is left to the Petroleum Industry Act. It is not for us. NNPC is now a private company and the company should decide what it wants to do with the price of its products. It shouldn’t really be the business of Governors.
“It is not up to sub-nationals to decide
