Although members of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) and the out-going President of Nigeria were very much alert of the precarious signals that could trigger a fresh recession and civil commotion if government pressed the wrong button to rock the Petroleum Sector at such an infuriating time of a two-digit figure inflation of prices of goods and services that have robbed citizens’ of social obligations to their families but still, as a political strategy in October 2021, announced an impending total removal of fuel subsidy in June 2022, the mid pre-election year!

It can no longer be hidden that the Nigerian naira has been devalued, and that the purchasing power of citizens’ have hit rock-bottom as both local/foreign commodities were at all-high increase in most cases between 350%-700%!

It is inconceivable that in a pre-general election year, an incumbent government would want to rock the boat through an unpopular policy that could jeopardize their chances of continuity in 2023, except for very obvious campaign strategy!

And through the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, the plan was hatched when she informed the nation that the 2022 Budget would accommodate fuel subsidy for only six months (January-June)!
Her counterpart, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources corroborated the statement that the accented Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), of August 2021, clearly provided for complete deregulation of the downstream sector through total removal of the subsidy from June 2022!

A SUDDEN U-TURN BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS SUSPECT AND CONFIRMS DELIBERATE INSTITUTIONAL COMPLICITY!

A sudden u-turn by the Federal Government on Tuesday 25th January, 2022, has brought to the fore a statement credited to Senate President Ahmed Lawan on Tuesday 18th January 2022, after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari that: “The President did not authorize anyone to remove subsidy!”; and within six days of his statement government announced the suspension of removal for 18 months (June, 2023), for the in-coming administration to handle as deemed fit and proper while the implementation of the PIA has been put on hold for necessary amendments to that effect be made by the National Assembly (NASS), to pay fresh subsidy of NGN3trillion through a non-incorporated NNPC?

The decision for total removal of subsidy is contained in the PIA passed by government in August 2021!

BENEFITS OF PMS, DIESEL, KEROSINE LUBRICANTS ETC, TO THE DOWN-TRODDEN NIGERIANS!

It would amount to an understatement to extol the innumerable advantages of petrol, (PMS), kerosene, diesel, condensates which can neither be exaggerated nor over-emphasized as LIVE-WIRE to the over 90% of the poor masses whose livelihood depended on those crude oil refined products!

The over 100 million generating sets always fueled to provide energy in the face of permanent blackout through inefficiency of the public power supply, and volumes of the products also consumed daily by the multitude of official 41.5 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), comprising of at least 41.4million micro enterprises and 73,081 small and medium enterprises; all category of automobiles and articulated/haulage vehicles!

COULD BUHARI BE JINXED OVER SUBSIDY CORRUPTION?

President of Nigeria, Major General Muhammadu Buhari did not study Petroleum Technology in all of the military institutions he attended both at home and abroad, yet between 1976-1979, during the illegal occupation of Nigeria by his comrades, he was saddled with the portfolio of Commissioner of Petroleum and Natural Resource and first Chairman of the NNPC, which was instituted in 1977!

According to Military Wiki General Buhari as Head of State between 31st December, 1983 to 27th August, 1985 he was said to have “curtailed oil theft and used counter trade policy to barter seized illegally bunkered crude oil for needful goods like machineries, enabling it to export above its OPEC quota.” His Minister for Energy was late Professor Tam David-West.

BUHARI ALSO SERVED AS PTF CHAIRMAN UNDER GENERAL ABACHA’S JUNTA!
Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) was a body created by Abacha’s government and funded from the revenue generated by the increase in the price of Petroleum Products to pursue developmental projects around the country.

A 1998 Report in New African adjudged PTF under Buhari as “transparent” but also noted that critics believed that a 20% revenue allocation of its resources to the Military would not be accountable for!
From all of the above analysis, General Buhari should be regarded as a GURU OF NIGERIA OIL INDUSTRY with his long experience in the field from 1976 to 1998 (22 years), and should anyone wonder or be surprised that he kept the substantive ministerial petroleum portfolio to his chest in his two terms to closely monitor and prevent fraud supposedly!

WHAT IS FUEL SUBSIDY IN NIGERIA?

Fuel subsidy is the difference between fixed pump price and the market rate through landing cost of imported refined crude oil products borne by government to cushion the negative economic effects on the poor masses.

Fuel subsidy is failure and exhibition of ineptitude by the Federal Government to refine crude oil but export it overseas and eventually import the finished products in form of PMS (petrol), Diesel oil, Condensates, etc, at exorbitant landing costs beyond the pockets of an average Nigerian!

Nigeria has been subsidizing fuel since the 1970s to ensure Nigerians purchase petroleum products below the global price according to successive administrations!

During the Jonathan’s and from the inception of Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC), Administration, We opposed and criticized the Petroleum Subsidy FRAUD; castigated both governments for deliberate institutional dereliction of duties and ineptitude across board but all to no avail! BUT we know that the day of accountability, reckoning and divine judgment is closer that the pseudo Nigerian rulers might ever envisage!

Below are some excerpts from past publications:
ZBB-C Newsletter Vol. 3. No. 92. Of 17th May, 2015 We have never changed our position that the whole gamut of petroleum subsidy is nothing short of a MONUMENTAL FRAUD AGAINST THE NIGERIAN MASSES, and we still maintain our stand for the following salient reasons:
An oil producing country as Nigeria should have no business in importing finished products if a God-fearing management rules the nation.

Refineries would normally be the first consideration as soon as oil exploration and exploitation commenced.
Oil blocks should not have become Party patronage issue of who is closest to Mr. President as it has been since 1999, when the outgoing government began to rule but should be allocated to States of the Federation and responsible business groups instead of individuals as it is presently practiced.

The present scenario of the Petroleum Sector portrays a deliberate and well-calculated plan of a cabal in government to buy up Nigeria with wealth stolen from its ‘belly’ and they almost succeeded if it were not for divine intervention!

In one night the PDP raised over N22 billion for their presidential campaign and one large-hearted contributor who was said possess an oil block, donated N2billion for himself and a friend!

Starting with former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, no PDP administration has built a refinery in 16 years!
Outgoing President, Ebele Jonathan, admitted that 60% of subsidized petroleum products was smuggled out of the country by fraudulent marketers and their collaborators in government!

ZBB-C Newsletter, Vol.3. No. 102. 26th July, 2015.
While addressing Nigerians In Diaspora Organization (NIDO), members in America and Canada at a parley in New York, in July, 2015, President Buhari made the following remarks:
*He accused former Nigerian ministers of selling about one million barrels of crude oil per day and of diverting the gains to personal accounts.
He also alleged in the US that “250.000 barrels per day of Nigerian Crude are being stolen and people sell and put the money into individual pockets” adding that the US and other developed countries were assisting Nigeria to trace such accounts.

“We will ask that such accounts to be frozen and prosecute the persons. The amount involved is mind-boggling…we will trace and repatriate such money and use the documents to prosecute them.”

“As Minister of Petroleum, NNPC (i.e. Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) had only two traceable accounts of payment to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), now everybody is doing anyhow.”
He expressed doubt if fuel subsidy was ever removed; transport, housing and food prices would go out of control and the average worker would suffer untold hardship. Who is subsidizing who? They say “remove subsidy”….they want petrol to cost N500 naira per litre.
“If you are working and subsidy is removed, you can’t control transport and market women, the cost of food, the cost of transport.”
“I will study if there’s need to remove subsidy with my experience and see what I can do.”
He lamented that “corruption in Nigeria has virtually developed into a culture where honest people are abused.”

WHAT DOES BUHARI EXPECT FROM NIGERIANS FOR ALL HIS DECEITS?

Would Nigerians rejoice that he suspended a fraudulent subsidy regime under his watch in spite of his exemplary resume of 29 YEARS of experience in the OIL INDUSTRY SECTOR OF THE ECONOMY or applaud him for planning to PERPETUATE APC IN GOVERNMENT on a platform of FALSEHOOD? President Buhari should thank his stars FOR NOT SETTING NIGERIA ON FIRE AS A DEPARTING LEGACY – because the gimmick backfired and the JOKE IS ON BUHARI AND APC!

Shame to Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria (IPMAN), which was ready to reap where it did not sow; shame to APC which has faked the Doctrine of Welfarism and Utilitarianism since 2015!

“THE LORD DETESTS LYING LIPS, BUT HE DELIGHTS IN PEOPLE WHO ARE TRUSTWORTHY.” (Proverbs. 12:22).

[WATCH OUT FOR A NIGERIAN PRIME MINISTER – NOT A PRESIDENT IN 2023!]



I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon, 08130669886, 08080243066. g-mail-dvdolufon@gmail.

Nigerians are not stupid

The pains from buhari government would still be there when voting next year