The Senate yesterday said the current payment of N26 per litre to subsidise Premium Motor Spirits (PMS) by the federal government was illegal as the monies were not appropriated for by the National Assembly as constitutionally required.

The matter of subsidy returned to the forefront of national discourse recently in the wake of the lingering fuel scarcity, following reports that the landing cost of the product per litre, had increased to N171, while the official price remains N145.

The Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Maikanti Baru, said six days ago that PMS was currently being subsidised with N26 per litre, due to government’s determination to retain the pump price at N145, despite the landing cost of N171.

He outlined the cost, insurance and freight of the product to $620 per metric tonne, and that at the exchange rate of N305 to US$1, the landing cost was N171.

Baru put consumption at about 50 million liters daily but attributed the increase to hoarding of the product.

The Vice President Yemi Osinbajo briefing journalists in Lagos recently, said the subsidy payments were being borne by the NNPC and not the federal government.

The statement drew the ire of several stakeholders who said Osinbajo’s statement implies that the NNPC can spend monies without appropriation, despite being an agency of the federal government, or that the corporation is independent of the government.

The Senate joined the controversy yesterday when it declared that the said subsidy payments were not appropriated for, and therefore illegal.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources ( Downstream), Senator Kabiru Marafa, speaking at a news briefing yesterday said the Senate was determined to stop the payments which are illegal.

” At our slated investigative public hearing on the sector next week Thursday, NNPC and other stakeholders should be prepared to explain to Nigerians who approved the subsidy for them and who appropriated it?

“There is complacency in the sector and sharp practices that must be stopped. They want to take us back to subsidy regime that has never been beneficial to ordinary Nigerians across the country. We cannot go back to such scam called subsidy which robbed the country of N10 trillion between 2006 and 2016.

” Before we went on recess , I remember submitting on the floor of the senate that I am no body’s man or rubber stamp ,the same way I strongly believe that the Senate is not a rubber stamping platform for anybody or arm of government,” he said .

Marafa maintained that there must be transparency in the sales and importation of fuel, which he claimed began in 2015 under the current administration.

“The current administration opted for the more transparent model of directing selling crude oil and purchasing refined products, instead of the model of swapping crude for refined products adopted by the previous administration,” he noted.

Desyner:
It turns out Buhari and his men have been swapping crude for petrol. The arrangement helps bypass the notorious marketers in previous subsidy arrangement, but is open to top-level corruption. To me, it is a masterstroke. I prefer this to the previous subsidy apparatus.

omenkaLives:
Whether legal or not, something just has to be done to check the current hardship being experienced by the citizens over availability of the product.

Yesterday was one of my angriest days as a Nigerian.

Left home as early as 10am to queue up at an NNPC station. To my chagrin, it appeared I was moving just about a few inches forward per hour on the queue. I was literally making no progress at all and time was approaching 5pm.

Left where I was and drove towards the gate, and there, what I saw made me wonder if there's really hope for this nation. Every official stationed at the gate to ensure things are done rightly were the very people making sure NOTHING is done rightly! From Road Safety, to Police, to the the station employees, EVERYONE was taking bribes and allowing folks jump and shunt the queue! From what I saw, there was absolutely no way I'd get to get in if I didn't bribe my way through!

Yet we open our loud mouths to complain about government corruption!

I made up my mind I wasn't gonna be involved in any of that. Made a u-turn and drove to another station nearby, OFICON, whom I heard were selling at the official rate.

Now, I joined the queue and hoped that time, i'd get my juice and get the hell out of there, get home and get some rest so I'd have sufficient energy to groove later in the club.

Now, Guess why the guys were selling at official rate: DPR official were in the premises.

Guess how much fuel they were dispensing to motorists: 10L max!

Eventually, DPR left and to my utmost surprise, these guys wound back their meters to 230naira per litre!! Guess what more, you could, this time, buy a full tank if you please!

Now, it was about 7:15pm!!!

With so much pain and anger in my mind, i drove in and filled my tank, and swore I'd NEVER patronise that station ever again.

This is probably the same sadenning experience millions of Nigerians go through daily. It is depressing to be honest.

This subsidy nonsense was one of the major undoings of the Jonathan's regime and if Buhari isn't careful, it might consume him as well.

At this stage in our National experience, we shouldn't be dealing with an issue such as this for God's sake. It is not right!

omenkaLives:
Whether legal or not, something just has to be done to check the current hardship being experienced by the citizens over availability of the product.

Yesterday was one of my angriest days as a Nigerian.

Left home as early as 10am to queue up at an NNPC station. To my chagrin, it appeared I was moving just about a few inches forward per hour on the queue. I was literally making no progress at all and time was approaching 5pm.

Left where I was and drove towards the gate, and there, what I saw made me wonder if there's really hope for this nation. Every official stationed at the gate to ensure things are done rightly were the very people making sure NOTHING is done rightly! From Road Safety, to Police, to the the station employees, EVERYONE was taking bribes and allowing folks jump and shunt the queue! From what I saw, there was absolutely no way I'd get to get in if I didn't bribe my way through!

Yet we open our loud mouths to complain about government corruption!

I made up my mind I wasn't gonna be involved in any of that. Made a u-turn and drove to another station nearby, OFICON, whom I heard were selling at the official rate.

Now, I joined the queue and hoped that time, i'd get my juice and get the hell out of there, get home and get some rest so I'd have sufficient energy to groove later in the club.

Now, Guess why the guys were selling at official rate: DPR official were in the premises.

Guess how much fuel they were dispensing to motorists: 10L max!

Eventually, DPR left and to my utmost surprise, these guys wound back their meters to 230naira per litre!! Guess what more, you could, this time, buy a full tank if you please!

Now, it was about 7:15pm!!!

With so much pain and anger in my mind, i drove in and filled my tank, and swore I'd NEVER patronise that station ever again.

This is probably the same sadenning experience millions of Nigerians go through daily. It is depressing to be honest.

This subsidy nonsense was one of the major undoings of the Jonathan's regime and if Buhari isn't careful, it might consume him as well.

At this stage in our National experience, we shouldn't be dealing with an issue such as this for God's sake. It is not right!

ourema:

So sorry for the predicament but to say that the situation may likely consume the quest for the reelection of the President into office is not possible. The reason is that it is very easy to win an election in Nigeria and in most African countries. It only takes a grap on the military, the judiciary and the police. With that and the zombies mentality the election is done

ivandragon:
the Senate should thread carefully on this.


despite the lies of pmb & the confused personality of his appointees, subsidy has to come into play if PMS is to remain N145, or the government increases price of PMS which would start another cycle of depression as cost of other goods & services will also rise with their attendant domino effects...

the fraud in subsidy can be controlled/checked if adequate measures are put in place...


the problem pmb is having on the matter today is as a result of the lies he & his goons told in the past just to paint GEJ black, those lies are haunting him today but pmb is to arrogant to admit his faults & as such he keeps lying & stumbling in issues that should be straightforward...

EternalTruths:



Remove the subsidy and let every marketer import fuel while NNPC regulate the quality & safety of fuel imported.

RZArecta:



wash your eyes with bleach


“The current administration opted for the more transparent model of directing selling crude oil and purchasing refined products, instead of the model of swapping crude for refined products adopted by the previous administration,”

ivandragon:



fine.


if Nigerians can handle the increase, no problem.

but note that the landing cost of N171 is for PMS to land in LAGOS...

the further inland you go, the more expensive it gets & less demand for the product, so marketers rather sell were they can make quick returns with little stress & risks...


& that is one area of subsidy Nigerians overlook & which is why subsidy will ALWAYS exist in one form or another...


for instance, with total deregulation, fuel (as long as it is imported) can be sold for N175 in Lagos as transport costs will be drastically reduced, the further inland the commodity moves, be it by road, rail or pipelines, the more expensive it gets. no two states will sell at same price... (well, 80% won't anyway).


so fuel would sell for like N190 in Ekiti, N230 in Abuja, N245 in Enugu, N300 in KD & N350 in Sokoto... & do you think the North will agree to that?

ourema:

So sorry for the predicament but to say that the situation may likely consume the quest for the reelection of the President into office is not possible. The reason is that it is very easy to win an election in Nigeria and in most African countries. It only takes a grap on the military, the judiciary and the police. With that and the zombies mentality the election is done

EternalTruths:



Open the Eastern Ports to ensure that petrol gets to the SS, SE, NC and NE through them.


If you do this, cost of petrol as a result of distance will come down.


From Onne at Rivers and Ibaka at Akwa Ibom to Abuja, and Katsina is far shorter than from Lagos.


You want to fight corruption and you are giving room for corruption. What sort of logic is that

ivandragon:




your reasoning is severely obtuse...


there is a challenge facing us right now, increase price of fuel or continue to subsidise... that is a decision that must be made...

you said fuel should be totally deregulated, which is fine.


I simply gave my own opinion why an increase for now is not feasible & that subsidy exist in other forms. if the sector is fully deregulated & a marketer decides to sell fuel at N400 per litre in a distant northern village where it knows it enjoys monopoly for various reasons, do you think the government will just fold its arms?


you can't comprehend that even if the other seaports are operational, the price of fuel will always increase the further inland you go. simple logic, you can't digest...

aolawale025:
There we go again. Why not deregulate PMS

omenkaLives:
Whether legal or not, something just has to be done to check the current hardship being experienced by the citizens over availability of the product.

Yesterday was one of my angriest days as a Nigerian.

Left home as early as 10am to queue up at an NNPC station. To my chagrin, it appeared I was moving just about a few inches forward per hour on the queue. I was literally making no progress at all and time was approaching 5pm.

Left where I was and drove towards the gate, and there, what I saw made me wonder if there's really hope for this nation. Every official stationed at the gate to ensure things are done rightly were the very people making sure NOTHING is done rightly! From Road Safety, to Police, to the the station employees, EVERYONE was taking bribes and allowing folks jump and shunt the queue! From what I saw, there was absolutely no way I'd get to get in if I didn't bribe my way through!

Yet we open our loud mouths to complain about government corruption!

I made up my mind I wasn't gonna be involved in any of that. Made a u-turn and drove to another station nearby, OFICON, whom I heard were selling at the official rate.

Now, I joined the queue and hoped that time, i'd get my juice and get the hell out of there, get home and get some rest so I'd have sufficient energy to groove later in the club.

Now, Guess why the guys were selling at official rate: DPR official were in the premises.

Guess how much fuel they were dispensing to motorists: 10L max!

Eventually, DPR left and to my utmost surprise, these guys wound back their meters to 230naira per litre!! Guess what more, you could, this time, buy a full tank if you please!

Now, it was about 7:15pm!!!

With so much pain and anger in my mind, i drove in and filled my tank, and swore I'd NEVER patronise that station ever again.

This is probably the same sadenning experience millions of Nigerians go through daily. It is depressing to be honest.

This subsidy nonsense was one of the major undoings of the Jonathan's regime and if Buhari isn't careful, it might consume him as well.

At this stage in our National experience, we shouldn't be dealing with an issue such as this for God's sake. It is not right!

EternalTruths:



All hands are not equal.

The price of meat in the North, is it the same with the one in the South.?

Why not subsidize meat.?

When will you ever learn that you can not make everyone equal.

It is this stupidity of making everyone equal that has destroyed Nigeria.

Have you not heard of comparative advantage.


Pls, stop being myopic in life.

Why not ask that non-graduates earn the same salary as graduates.

Think before you talk.

Remember in Life, we all can't enjoy equally.

Everyone should hold unto his comparative advantage.

ivandragon:



fine.


if Nigerians can handle the increase, no problem.

but note that the landing cost of N171 is for PMS to land in LAGOS...

the further inland you go, [/b]the more expensive it gets & less demand for the product, so marketers rather sell were they can make quick returns with little stress & risks...


& that is one area of subsidy Nigerians overlook & which is why subsidy will ALWAYS exist in one form or another...


for instance, with total deregulation, fuel (as long as it is imported) can be sold for N175 in Lagos as transport costs will be drastically reduced, [b]the further inland the commodity moves, be it by road, rail or pipelines, the more expensive it gets. no two states will sell at same price... (well, 80% won't anyway).

This is why Nigeria need to improve the inland water ways and develop more ports. Its cheaper to transport through the water.
Nigeria also need to invest in refineries, actually we should have no business importing petroleum products, rather it should be one of Nigeria's export. So long Nigeria imports the products, we can not be absorbed from the effects of the rising crude oil price either we pay in subsidy or Nigerians bear the high cost.
Way forward is to develop our refining and transport infrastructure.
God bless Nigeria!

so fuel would sell for like N190 in Ekiti, N230 in Abuja, N245 in Enugu, N300 in KD & N350 in Sokoto... & do you think the North will agree to that?

ivandragon:




your reasoning is severely obtuse...


there is a challenge facing us right now, increase price of fuel or continue to subsidise... that is a decision that must be made...

you said fuel should be totally deregulated, which is fine.


I simply gave my own opinion why an increase for now is not feasible & that subsidy exist in other forms. if the sector is fully deregulated & a marketer decides to sell fuel at N400 per litre in a distant northern village where it knows it enjoys monopoly for various reasons, do you think the government will just fold its arms?


you can't comprehend that even if the other seaports are operational, the price of fuel will always increase the further inland you go. simple logic, you can't digest...

As we March on to 2018 with great anticipation and joy, let's all not forget how hard we struggled this 2017 just to live a normal life; from struggling to buy food at affordable price, to struggling to find job or startup a business to the latest one now which is struggling to buy petrol to fuel our motorcycles, cars, generators, etc, which made most of us postpone our usual travel to our respective villages to celebrate the Christmas or New Year.

These pains are living witnesses that the people we fought to vote into power are indeed failures! They have all failed us; from president to governors, to senators, to reps, to assembly members to ministers and what have you. They are all failures judging by their performance in past years.

It proves that our leadership and government as a nation is a total mess!

Nigeria is now one of the most difficult countries in the world where youths find it difficult to even get an average paying job to feed themselves.

Graduates have become worthless in Nigeria because if you graduate, you won't get job or anything to do. And the educational system is so destroyed that it only produces job seekers and not job creators.

If we continue like this, its just a matter of years and Nigeria will collapse finally and we all will be living like slaves and refugees in our own nation.

If you are a Nigerian living abroad, don't feel you have escaped the Nigerian problem because one day, someday, these European, American, Asian and Arab countries we are running to en mass to hide or take as second home can wake up one day and tell all Nigerians to leave their nation whether you have their citizenship or not, so you have just one country you can proudly call your home and that's Nigeria, so please come and join us let's make it a better place for our future generation.

Anybody that has traveled out of Nigeria to countries in Europe, America, Asia and even Middle East will agree that Nigeria is a mini hell fire and anybody who survives in Nigeria can survive even in hell fire!

To this effect, I challenge us all irrespective of our tribe, religion, location or class to please wake up and let's begin a new chapter for Nigeria through voicing out our pains and by ensuring the same old, recycled politicians do not lead us again come 2019. They have done their part, let them go and rest let the youths take charge of their future now!

Nigerian youths arise! Stop allowing these recycled old politicians to be using you and be dividing us using tribe and religion whereas amongst them they are one irrespective of their tribe or religion. Their children intermarry irrespective of tribe or religion but they sow so much hatred in our hearts to hate those who come from another tribe or religion just so they can continue to rule us and loot our future for their kids and unborn generation.

How can we achieve this

Stand with ANY (Arise Nigerian Youths) political pressure group now. Join our over growing Whatsapp groups....join our Telegram group...join our Facebook group and like our page.


Tell your friends about ANY, invite them to join us on Twitter by following us via @NYRP3 and on Instagram via https://www.instagram.com/arisenigerianyouths

We will soon start massive campaign and youth mobilization on Nigerian TVs, Radio stations and also will be organising university campus walks nationwide.


Get ready!
ANY is coming to your door!

Wishing us all a prosperous New Year ahead!