By Cross Udo and By Nathaniel Zaccheaus, Abuja
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) yesterday said that the only panacea to solve the high cost of petroleum products, especially petrol, in the country, is by granting special.
TUC also said that the high cost of living and economic hardships in the country are the result of the removal of the petrol subsidy and the devaluation of the naira, which has made it one of the weakest currencies in the world.
Briefing journalists in Abuja, the President of the TUC, Comrade Festus Osifo, noted that the fuel subsidy was gone, as President Bola Tinubu announced after his swearing-in on May 29, 2023, but the high exchange rate brought it back.
He opined that accessibility, availability, and affordability are critical requirements for energy security in the country.
He said, “So for the first one, accessibility, as Dangote refinery is today. We want the government, through the regulator of the industry, NMDPRA, to give licenses to all marketers to source for products from the Dangote refinery; if he has the volume to provide to us in Nigeria today, the 35 million litres minimum per day that we consume so that let all marketers be able to access this product, bring this product to their respective stations that cut across the nook and cranny of Nigeria. That is number one regarding accessibility,
“Then the second one touches on availability. First, we need to know the production capacity of Dangote Refinery today. We understand that the refinery capacity is 650,000 barrels per day. The total production that could give us may be more than 50 million litres.
“So even if today, Dangote refinery is producing 35 million litres, do we have the capacity to evacuate 35 million litres per day from that refinery? So that is the question we call on the regulator to provide us with an answer. We must know. Do we have the country’s quantity to resolve the availability issues?
“We want the government and the regulator to be able to speed up all the necessary support and approvals to the Dangote refinery to get to that level where we could have an excess of 40 million litres per day.
“It is critical because if, for example, the production today from the Dangote refinery is 50 million litres, it is insufficient. So why are efforts being made to ramp up production from the Dangote Refinery? We are demanding that we look for every other means as we ramp up production. “We should source for that difference and bring it in for a while until Dangote can get to that level where the production will be sufficient to go across the nook and crannies of Nigeria.
“So for us, that is key because that will sufficiently address the issues that borders on availability. The last one is the issue of affordability, which is what we have demanded before, and it is still the same thing that we are demanding today. If the government today makes a special intervention in that sector by giving FX to the Dangote refinery at N1200 to a $1 petrol price, today will crash much below N700 per liter of petrol.
“So the demand is that the government create a special FX scheme for that purpose. No government in the world doesn’t intervene in its critical sector. And the critical sector, in this case, is the energy sector.
“We shouldn’t leave it to the vibration and gyrations we are having regarding our naira. So when that special intervention is done, the petrol price will decrease. It is going to go below where it was moved from. It was moved from about N800, and when that intervention is done, it will go to about N700.
“So, gentlemen of the press- that is our demand to government three things. One is affordability. So that we can buy this product, we want the price to go even below where it was before, not just reverse, even where it was before, but it will go below, if we attend clearly to the issues that are bothering on FX.
“Some of you may ask why FX again. The government said they are selling crude to the Dangote refinery in our local currency now, but crude is an international product, so it’s priced in USD. All you now have to do is convert the value from the USD to local currency.
“Government can intervene in that sector by what we have opined earlier, that will even help Dangote Refinery to employ more Nigerians and make its operations much more efficient and that will crash the PMS price to where it was as of June last year.”
*Akpabio: Senate may intervene in fuel price hike if necessary
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, pledged yesterday that the red chamber would assess the current increment in fuel prices in the country and intervene if necessary.
The Senate President gave the assurance while addressing journalists after he inaugurated a remodelled press centre in the National Assembly complex.
He explained that the nation’s oil and gas sector had been fully deregulated, so market forces would henceforth determine the price of fuel.
He urged Nigerians to take measures to reduce fuel consumption pending the materialisation of plans to increase the supply of the products across the country.
He said, “Regarding the recent increase in the pump price of petroleum, I haven’t actually assessed what is happening in terms of pump price increase, but it’s not pump price increase; it’s deregulation.
“If you remove the consumer subsidy and then want people to pay the actual price of what we consume, it means that if you have five cars, you will now use one or two.
“It simply means that you will stop the idea of subsidy to ensure the monies are used for other things. So, I don’t expect any increase in pump price. I will expect the market forces to determine prices.
“I would expect that now that the NNPCL is no longer going to bring petroleum products into the country, those who have the capacity will get it, and the more the products are available, the lower the price.
“So at the beginning, it may seem to be an increase in pump price, but I believe strongly that with the production from Dangote and other refineries when they become functional and the fact that it is now open to all to bring in products into the country, I can assure you that we may not even see lower pump prices.
“So, please don’t dwell on the increase in pump price. We will assess it, and if we need to intervene, we will.”
Akpabio further assured Nigerians that the Senate would ensure their comfort in the best way possible.
“There is no point offering services to Nigeria if we are not prepared to improve on the lot of Nigerians. The 10th Senate is ready to change the paradigm and ensure that the future of Nigeria is better than what it is today.
“I pledge to work collectively; we will make legislation and the right motions and intervene to build a better future for all Nigerian children, born and unborn.
“When I say that brighter days are ahead, it simply means that all the wrongs that kept the country where it is will be corrected.
