Revelations emerged yesterday on how the Senate Committee report which will soon be adopted by the Upper Chamber, has recommended an increase of the fuel pump price to N150 per litter, under the guise that the additional charge will be used to maintain federal roads.

According to documents obtained by Peoples Daily and which was deliberated at the plenary, Senator Kabiru Gaya led Committee on works has recommended that additional charges of N5 be imposed on all petroleum products imported or manufactured in the country.

The bill is titled “A Bill for an Act to establish the National Roads Fund for the purpose of financing the maintenance and rehabilitation of national roads.
The report of the committee further recommended other charges, including toll fees, load control charges, interstate mass transit user charges, which the senate said should be deductible from the transport fare paid by passengers to commercial mass transit vehicles on interstate roads.

According to the report, there shall be
“Fuel levy of N5 chargeable per liter on any volume of Petroleum and diesel products imported into Nigeria and on locally refined Petroleum products”
“Axle load control charges, toll fees (A percentage of not exceeding 10% of any revenue paid as user charge per vehicle on any federal road designated as a toll road”
“International vehicle transit charges
“Inter state mass transit user charge of 0.5% deductible from the fare paid by passengers to commercial mass transit operators on inter-state roads”
“Roads Fund surcharge of 0.5% chargeable on the surcharge on the assessed value of any vehicle imported at any time into Nigeria”
“Lease, License or other feel which shall be 10% of the revenue accruing from lease or license or other fees pertaining to non vehicular road usages along any federal road and collected by the Federal Roads agency. Grant and loans and Gift of land, money or other property”

Those charges which were about 9 items, has 7 items chargeable as a motorist in Nigeria which they said, would enable government to adequately service road infrastructure.

The fund is to operate independently under the Federal Ministry of Finance.

Meanwhile, the report of the committee was not adopted because of unresolved issues of appointment into the agency.

The report recommended that the heads of the agency to be established should be a degree holder, but this was not accepted by some other senators who kicked against the dichotomy between the Higher National Diploma and University Degree holders.

In his reaction, senator Kabiru Marafa ( APC Zamfara) said it is not in line with the tradition of the senate in passing Bill that discriminate against any person on the ground of HND for the post of director of any board.

He decried the situation where the position for director of the board should be for a university degree holder.
“This is a problem that has held us down and the progress of this nation, It has being lingering on. This is not in line with our tradition in passing Bills. We have graduates for both HND and university.”.

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When did Senatw become PPRA?they have usurped the work of an agency!