Prof. Pat Utomi, Director of Applied Economics at Lagos Business School, says Nigerians are not really feeling the impact of fuel subsidy.
Utomi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday that he was neither in favour nor against removal of fuel subsidy as the issue of subsidy was a complex one.

He explained that there were some elements of corruption in the subsidy as most of the money earmarked for fuel subsidy were going into private pockets.

“In reality, I’m sure that Nigerians actually consume slightly less than half the amount of money we budget for petroleum products, the rest is corruption.

“If you look at half or twice of the money we spend on petrol that is going into private pockets is incredible, the rest is corruption.

“So if you remove fuel subsidy, you therefore kill that corruption,” he said.

http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news-update/12060-nigerians-don-t-feel-impact-of-fuel-subsidy-says-utomi.html.

My take on the issue of fuel subsidy is that it's got to go. In 2010, the fuel subsidy gulped $8bn - 25% of the budget. We've been talking about the subsidy since "99 when it was N18/ltr, at N65/litre we are still talking of a subsidy. The fraud started during IBB's regime when he was settling officers with a commission who front with a company importing fuel.

So many people have been made millionaires or even billionaires by this fraud. They buy the fuel at a subsidy and sell at over 300%, mix with diesel and sell for maximum profits, sell as aviation fuel at sometimes triple the price, some buy and sell in Benin, Togo etc. over four times the price, and some people even hoard it at the other side of the boarder and claim cargo subsidy- It's ridiculous!

$8bn can build enough refineries, if not for an uncontrollable appetite for corruption, if we refine at home- it will cost N40 and sell at N70 with proper pricing mechanisms as is in Libya, Algeria etc. Unfortunately, lawlessness is the order of the day in the PDP-led government, issuing licenses to their officials to sell at inflated prices and also releasing $8bn to these same people in the name of a subsidy. The money only ends up enriching the pockets of a few- who are the part of the same "cabal" that would rather die than have our refineries work.

Oh and don't believe all the hype about the recent Kerosene scarcity, it was deliberately engineered by these "marketers" to get the NNPC/PPMC to release more DPMK. On releasing the fuel (11,000 tons) to the marketers, all of their kerosene storage tanks were full. What scarcity!

Nigeria should have been one of the greatest nation in the world but the CORRUPTION in the country is unbelievable.

Nigeria should have been one of the greatest nation in the world but the CORRUPTION in the country is unbelievable.

Yes the fuel subsidy causes more problems than good.

[center]The Lies Called Fuel Deregulation.[/center]
For some time now, our government is back to its age old arguments for the removal of fuel subsidy. We are being bombarded with several figures to prove that the government is spending money, which should have been used to provide the much needed services and repair our failing infrastructure, in order to subsidize fuel importation. We are seeing multiple sponsored articles taking forms of private opinion in support of this subsidy removal.

Assuming that all their arguments are true; assuming that there is no error or artificial built-in cost in the templates they have been showing to us; there are still overwhelming reasons why this deregulation must be resisted by every Nigerian.

The Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) of Abacha era was form as a consequence of the removal of this same fuel subsidy. The patriotic labour leaders protested against the about N6.50k increase then, until they extracted a promise from Abacha to set up an Independent Agency that will utilize the extra income from the fuel price increase, to rehabilitate our infrastructure. True to his words, PTF was set up and Gen. Buhari appointed to head it. The Agency brought a significant improvement in the state of our roads, schools and hospitals within a short period of time. Even in the East, where the impact of the Agency was minimal, the improvement in the infrastructures was very noticeable. This feat was achieved with as little as N6.50 extra on the price of Fuel.

After 1999, when PDP and Obasanjo took over the government, they choose to collapse the agency and corner to themselves, funds that do not belong to them. The PTF funds belong to an agency set up for the sole aim of fixing our infrastructure – thanks to heroic protest of labour and the Nigerian people. This is principally a betrayal of the Nigerian people and a breach of the agreement between labour and the Abacha regime. Government is a continuous body and subsequent government must respect agreement entered into by previous government. With these funds, they choose to fund their greed and refused to maintain our infrastructure, as PTF was set up to do.

In addition, the PDP governments more than doubled the reigning fuel price amidst several protest by the Nigerian people. On several of these occasions, promises were made by the government which they have never fulfilled. In particular, they promised to supervise the emergence of refineries that will lead to full deregulation of the fuel price regime. But what have they achieved? Nothing!

Today, they are manufacturing new lies and new arguments. They keep shifting the goal post. The Refineries they promised, we are yet to have. Even the ones we have, they have failed to maintain properly. Yet they want to deregulate. They want to abandon the Nigeria people to a resultant high inflation in our meager incomes; so long as they can increase the booty available for them in the pretext of securing more revenues.

Of course, we know Jonathan is a new man in the saddle; but we are also aware that it is the same party – PDP – that has been governing us all this long. We are not unaware that the same characters that were liable for the breach of the previous agreement and the general failure of the past PDP government are still in control. A so called Chief Tony Anenih was head of the Ministry of works and misappropriated 300 billion naira meant for our roads without any improvement. Characters like him have been at the helm of affairs since 1999. These same characters have remained the closest advisers to the present government. Are we then to call this a new government with new priorities; are we to foolishly allow our people to be deceived severally?

Who has been punished for the failing state of our infrastructure since 1999 by this government? Who has been punished for misappropriating the several accrued billions of the last oil boom? Has Jonathan proven to be a prudent manager of our resources, to be different from our past corrupt and public office looting President? Why then, should we further squeeze the already pressed Nigerian masses in the name of fuel deregulation?

Behind their facts for the deregulation of fuel price and a subsequent fuel price increase is the inefficiencies and corrupt practices of the present fuel regime. Whose responsibility is it, to remove these inefficiencies and corruption? The very essence of governance is to manage resources and provide security of lives and properties. If our government cannot properly manage the processes inherent in the present fuel regime or device an alternative regime without fuel price increment; if they cannot root-out all elements of corruption in the present regime or device a better regime with minimal corruption; they should resign, because they are not under any compulsion to rule us. They must rule the Nigerian people on terms agreeable to us.

When persons and/or parties present themselves for elective offices, they do so with the undertaking that they have superior skills and knowledge to change the lives of the people on terms agreeable to them. The whole essence of electoral campaign is to convince the people based on those skills. When the present government and PDP presented themselves for election, they never speculated fuel price increase or the so called removal of fuel subsidy. They said nothing of increasing the price of electric power consumption. They never advised that we will be made to tighten an already over-tight belt. Rather they promised us land full of milk and honey. They massively bribed us before and on the Election Days.

Today, they are back to their true colour. Since we have proved incapable of remembering our past, we are being reminded that in our dealings with them, lies and manipulations are the rule. We are being made to understand that the new man and the new characters, upon which we were made to vote PDP is a grand deception. We are being reminded of the failed promises and failed hopes of yesteryears. I hope we can get the message and act rightly.

If we accept today’s lies based on new promises without a fulfillment of previous agreements and promises, if we concede based on new terms without punishing all those responsible for the failures of past terms; we should be ready for future betrayals. It is only a people incapable of standing up for their right that accepts cycles of betrayal.

Ours is a land of Christians and Muslims. We have accepted the Bible and Koran as our moral guide. Are we to forget the parable of the talents in the bible; where Christ superior knowledge tells us that he that could not to account for a talent will never be worthy of more talents. A government that has failed to account for the several taxes they have imposed on us, a government that has wasted and is still wasting the massive incomes of the present oil boom since 1999 is justifiably unworthy of more trust.

When they prove to be prudent, when they significantly reduce bribery and corruption and prove themselves capable of managing our resources better; we can all go on the tightest of belts for sake of our future. But they have failed in all these parameters. They have continued to corruptly enrich themselves and their cronies. They have driven the cost of running our government to an unsustainable limit that we are borrowing during an oil boom. They have shown total incapability of creating jobs in our land or restoring our economy. Even basic security with law and order they could not restore. Yet they want us in our poverty to further fund their extravagance. They want to further compound our woes just to cover the wastages they have created around our political offices.

In these, Nigerians must be ready to fight to the last man; to ensure we save ourselves and our nation of further squeeze, further deception and further manipulations.