[size=14pt]FG Raises Panel On Fuel Subsidy Removal[/size]
Tony Ailemen
26 October 2011

Abuja — Federal Government yesterday said it has raised an advisory panel on the removal of fuel subsidy.

This was as it said no specific date has been fixed for the take off of the planned removal of Petroleum subsidy.

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison Madueke said this in Australia while speaking at a business parley with foreign investors.



The think-thank team, she said, would advise government on the process for the removal of the subsidy as well as manage the gains from subsidy removal.

"This committee is made up of highly respected Nigerians and would be saddled with the responsibility of managing the gains," she said.

The minister who spoke to some newsmen at the ongoing Commonwealth Business Forum in Perth, Australia also explained that government opted for the removal of subsidies as all punitive measures put in place to curtail racketeering failed to yield the desired results.

She however said President Goodluck Jonathan was more eager than any other Nigerian to ensure that the people get full benefits if petroleum subsidies must be removed.

"It is has become pertinent that we find other ways to utilize the vast resources that are been channeled into the subsidy which are not reaching the masses. This time around, once we are actually met with the various stakeholders and agreed on a formula, setting major deregulatory benefits would be put on the table.

"Government would not handle the implementation of these benefits, so that it would be opened and transparent. As we speak a committee of a highly-respected Nigerians is being put together, who would monitor and advice.



Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

"And there are major benefits that will cut across all major sector of the economy. Some of them involves road works, major public maintenance work, others involve ongoing mass transportation; there are schemes for skilled youths and also schemes for unskilled youth and of course there will be areas for maternity and child care etc. but we shall ensure that cross the board that the package is robust and monitored and advised on by Nigerians of high integrity so that it is clear that it is a credible and transparent process.

"In the area of public works, we shall not go through the government channels as usual, as Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) would be set up specifically to handle it so that we don't get bogged down in the usual manner of process and procurement issues.

"Mr. President is adamant that if we remove subsidy we must give Nigerians the full benefits and mitigate the full impact of that removal.



"I think as painful as it is to us as a government it is quite clear that the issue of subsidies have not worked in the manner in which they were intended for the Nigerian masses. the intention of course was to relieve the suffering of the masses across the board by ensuring that our petroleum products are subsidized to give them a comfortable level of procuring the products, unfortunately, since we came into government as a continuum over a year ago, it has become quite clear that the majority of the subsidies were actually going to the middle line operators."

She said the issue of subsidies not reaching the people has been of a great concern to the government.

"We have fought hard to try to ensure that it does. I think that all Nigerians will be very happy, we cannot please all the people all the time but I think most Nigerians will be happy with quantum and impact of all the parameters that we are putting in place to ensure that what we are saying would actually be done.



"Take kerosene for example, government subsidizes at the tune of about N105 per liter, the landing cost is about N145 per liter, we sell to the middle line operators at N40 per liter, which means that we are subsidizing at N105 per liter and we expect that it will reach the consumer or the masses at roughly N50 per liter that is our recommended price, but as we all know, it reaches them at a more higher cost. On the average right now, it costs N85 per litter. There has been time when it has been over N100 per liter. "And this is very painful for us. We have flooded the market with the product, yet there is still some part of the country where the product remains fairly high cost wise, which means that the middle line operators are gaining both ways.

They receive the subsidy from government and at the same time they are charging the consumers double and sometimes more than double the price. In order words the masses are not gaining the benefit of this heavy subsidization.

She said all measures put in place to arrest the situation in the past including closing down businesses and stations failed.

She also put part of the blame for the astronomical rise in cost of subsidy on the increase in price of the product at the international market.

She also doubted the possibility of government implementing the removal of subsidy in the coming year as planned, as she noted that not until all discussions are concluded and agreement reached, it would be wrong to give a definite date.

"We are still in the discussions with labour and other stakeholders.

Until that is finished I don't think it is right to give any definite date for the roll out of the implementation of subsidy removal.

We are still in discussion with major stakeholders including the National Assembly.

The minister who also spoke on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) said at the moment the situation is not in the hand of the executive as the bill is still before the National Assembly.

"It becomes almost illegal for the executive to officially write on the matter to the National Assembly," she said and noted however that government is working "hand in hand in such a momentous and critical bill of the oil and gas sector of our economy. We have a very distinguished committee set up which has looked already at a lot of interesting part of the bill that were posing some discomfort in some areas such as the fiscal and commercialization of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation".

http://allafrica.com/stories/201110260934.html

Man, stop wasting ur time&data on dis issue,dey cant dare to remove it.Dis's enough to say dat GEJ&co ar senseless being,remove fuel subsides on wat basis.

HOW MANY POLITICIANS ARE IN AUSTRALIA?

AND AT WHO'S EXPENCE?

WHY THE HELL ARE ARE THEY SPEWING ALL THIS poo FROM AUSTRALIA?

HOW MUCH OF NIGERIA'S RESOURCES HAVE THEY HANDED OVER TO AUSTRALIA?

WAT DA FUC.K?

D sage:

Man, stop wasting your time&data on dis issue,dey cant dare to remove it.Dis's enough to say dat GEJ&co ar senseless being,remove fuel subsides on wat basis.

Subsidy is not a birthright.

The main issue is the welfare of the people.
If creative means are implemented to alleviate the effect on the poor, then I'll say the removal can go ahead. From what Deziani has said, the subsidy alleviation package will be handled transparently by the private sector; it is for us to ask how this would be done and to ensure that there are adequate checks and balances.

Beaf,fuel subsidy might not be my birthright but its d only tin i benefited 4m ur govt cos i used&obtained it at subsidizing rate daily.Qstn: Ar dey going to use d subsidizing money removed to build refineries or divert it to odas sectors of economic?Removing fuel subsidy at dis level of our economy& standard of living of d pple, wi surely impoverised d masses&paralised our local industries and oda business.

Necessary capitulation from a ill-directed,treadmill government.

How can the landing cost of kerosene be N145? Something is wrong with this country. We must by all means start refining our own kerosene (petrol and diesel) for local consumption and importation to other countries.

That N145, if it's correct, includes the cost of crude, overheads, profit margin, transportation, and other costs from that exporting country. We are just making other countries (and their nationals) richer. No matter what it takes, let government make our refineries work! It is a matter of urgent national importance.

Raising a panel is usually the first step when they don't want to do something. So those against subsidy removal shouldn't worry anymore.

Though I believe its better they remove it.

D sage:

Beaf,fuel subsidy might not be my birthright but its d only tin i benefited 4m your govt cos i used&obtained it at subsidizing rate daily.Qstn: Ar dey going to use d subsidizing money removed to build refineries or divert it to odas sectors of economic?Removing fuel subsidy at dis level of our economy& standard of living of d pple, wi surely impoverised d masses¶lised our local industries and oda business.

As per the bolded, Nigerians have been battered, so it is expected that such persimism would arise. What I'd suggest to govt, is that they set up the palliatives and get the programmes running for the people to benefit from a couple of months before removing the subsidy; that way, they will be able to win over minds, especially if the benefits far outweigh any increases in fuel cost.

Ironically, its less than two years since fuel queues were abolished in Nigeria and we routinely paid well above a hundred Naira per litre, yet the economy never crashed and transportation costs were bearable. If the subsidy is removed and the palliatives are properly targetted, Nigeria's economy would actually improve drammatically, the subsidy is an enslavement.

Akanbi_edu:

Raising a panel is usually the first step when they don't want to do something. So those against subsidy removal shouldn't worry anymore.

Though I believe its better they remove it.

The word, "panel" was never used by Deziani, it is the newspapers interpretation of her words below:

Government would not handle the implementation of these benefits, so that it would be opened and transparent. As we speak a committee of a highly-respected Nigerians is being put together, who would monitor and advice

please beaf, can you explain to me what the saftey nets, the federal government is going to introduce after the subsidy is removed is about? Thanks.

Subsidy is not a birthright.

The main issue is the welfare of the people.
If creative means are implemented to alleviate the effect on the poor, then I'll say the removal can go ahead. From what Deziani has said, the subsidy alleviation package will be handled transparently by the private sector; it is for us to ask how this would be done and to ensure that there are adequate checks and balances.

@beaf,
do you think these ppl ruling us are human beings or devils?
is fuel subsidy costing us more money than oil bunkry and corruption?
why is jonathan not fighting corruption among his co-thieves and oil bunkry rather than fighting the only benefit a typical nigerian get from govt?
what will happen if he makes stealing of public funds a crime punishable by death sentence or life imprisonment?
àre we fools? mention any of those who stole or is still stealing our public funds that has faced any serious punishment(s).
if you have a Bible, i will request that you read Proverbs 29 vs 2. IT SAYS; WHEN THE WICKED IS IN AUTHORITY, THE PEOPLE MOURN. WHILE WHEN THE RIGHTEOUS IS IN POWER, THE PEOPLE REJOICE.
pdp is a occultic group whose weapon is pepertual sufferings, hunger and all forms of wickedness to the masses.
i am from Imo state and a look at the north, south and east where pdp are in charge reveals problems of different forms. if you will agree with me, west is the most peaceful region in the country at present. pdp are the wicked ones and as such, they are thieves who come to steal, kill and destroy.
it is a shame that we are still considering them as human beings.

^
Save the emotional outpouring for your church service.

Henry120:

please beaf, can you explain to me what the saftey nets, the federal government is going to introduce after the subsidy is removed is about? Thanks.

It is about spending the money saved elswhere, where it would directly benefit the people instead of being paid into the pockets of a cabal who have found legal means to rob the country through fuel imports.
The full details of that area have not yet been made public, but here are some titbits from the minister:

And there are major benefits that will cut across all major sector of the economy. Some of them involves road works, major public maintenance work, others involve ongoing mass transportation; there are schemes for skilled youths and also schemes for unskilled youth and of course there will be areas for maternity and child care etc. but we shall ensure that cross the board that the package is robust and monitored and advised on by Nigerians of high integrity so that it is clear that it is a credible and transparent process.

"In the area of public works, we shall not go through the government channels as usual, as Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) would be set up specifically to handle it so that we don't get bogged down in the usual manner of process and procurement issues.

"Mr. President is adamant that if we remove subsidy we must give Nigerians the full benefits and mitigate the full impact of that removal.

Another senseless portfolio for wasting money and allowance again.

Proverbs 1 25 Because you disdained all my counsel,And would have none of my rebuke,
26[b] I also will laugh at your calamity;I will mock when your terror comes.[/b]

"Fly wen nor dey hear word".

Are those middle operators the government is reffering to bigger than the government? I cannt imagine Barak Obama talking about cabal sabotaging food subsidy in US. Nigerians, dont support inefficiency and weakness of the government. Are we buffoons? Dont we have senses? Do they think we are intellectually bankrupt? Na wa o for the government of Nigeria.

Another opportunity to spend and waste money on arrant nonsense, Let him use the Facebook he used to decide during the world cup, Dis guy is just too daft!!! yeah i mean GEJ

As usual the panel will comprise of the same old recycled people with old ideas that cannot surmount the current challenges.

Some of them will come from Goldman Sachs, IMF, and WBank while majority will be political jobbers with vested interests, etc. We cannot continue to do the same thing over and over and expect different results. Some of us should be called to address this issue in the national interest.

Afterall, where were the Goldman Sachs, IMF and World Bank experts when the economy of the western world failed and some are still failing! Okonwo Nwaella as a product of these world institutions should always bear in mind the interest of this country and not apply solutions that will only serve the interest of the Western world. She should know that 'she is among her own people'.

But it is ironic that after the government has made up its mind as to what to do with subsidy, the next thing now is set up an advisory panel. Ideally any to be taken decision should be based on sound advise preceeding the decision itself.

Is setting up an advisory panel at this stage not mischievous? Time will tell.

So a government that has FAILED to enforce measures it put in place to arrest the situation should now be trusted to do manage the same subsidy removal.

I wonder how daft these people really are - it's like saying I failed at my current job, but I want you to give me a new job. Instead of correcting the mistakes and making sure their measures work, they want to move to another method that will be implemented by the same bunch of incompetent thieves. 

Why has no committee been raised to remedy the problems with their current measures? Why have they not sought to address the flaws in the system? If the middleman is the issue, why is the government not monitoring point of sale prices and penalising the distributors who are charging excessively?

Admitting failure in administering subsidy is not sufficient reason to remove it - the reason behind the subsidy failing (government greed) is the same reason why any removal will also fail.

This is funny because these middle-line operators are less than 500 people.

Yet they are so powerful that the govt would rather punish 150 million people.

The govt isn't even brave enough to publish their names.

Hey, how do I become a middle-line operator, please?




To your tent . . .

I think I should raise a team to develop alternative energy within 2 years. I am still praying to God to give me direction on how to go about this.

The Nigerian government has subjected its people to enough BS concerning this. It is time to put this cabal and their govt cronies out of business.

Its just so silly and it baffles me that these people act like they are so smart yet a primary school pupil will know that it is unwise to remove the subsidy until all the refineries are 100% operational. The people also licensed to build refineries should also be given a period of time to build these refineries as all this is going on subsidy can gradually be taken away at a percentage bi annually or annually until it is completely removed. The shock will be too hard to bear if these people are allowed to do this and get away with it. The desperation to even remove the subsidy smacks of some sinister motive, it will only make some people richer and there will be more for the Executive and Legislature to steal. Its just plain silly and unintelligent.

The masses are saying: do not help us to spend the money on other things. Keep your promised 'roads', 'electricity', etc. We are happy with this one - the 'subsidy.'

The govt now says: Nooooooooo! Let us help you. Let's remove it and massively improve you life in other areas.


Hilarity! Utter bullocks!


What is the track record of performance of this govt and others before it? In the last 20 years, how many promises have they fulfilled?



Believe this, believe anything. Bullocks! Estate agents in London are waiting. More houses for them and their girlfies.

The Govt should simply Nationalise the import and distribution of Petroleum products if they cannot regulate the Private Sector effectively so to do.

Ibime:

The Govt should simply Nationalise the import and distribution of Petroleum products if they cannot regulate the Private Sector effectively so to do.

This is clever. I really like your take on this issue.

But, they'd entertain this. Their main aim is to rake in more money, don't forget that. Nothing altruistic.

@beaf
In case you do not know, subsidy is a birth right,
If the Nigerian government cannot guaranty constant electricity, security of lives and property , good roads, a functional manufacturing sector, social security for the poor and jobless, rail transport, free education, healthcare and several others. Then subsidy is a birthright; that's the only thing the Nigerian people get as a benefit for being Nigerians.
Countries in europe that do not have subsidies have all the items listed above for their citizens.

SUBSIDY IS OUR BIRTHRIGHT.

We dare them to try and remove the subsidy, that is when they will see the collective might of the Nigerian people. If Boko Haram a small segment they cant deal with now they will have the whole Nigeria to contend with. Let them remove it and see

I need to know 1: How long would it take to build refineries 2: How will the pump price fall when we finally those refineries. 3: Would they be able to stop the bunkerers from exporting refined products to neighbouring countries?

GUYZ I THINK OUR PROTEST AND REVOLUTION AGAINST THIS GOVT SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON BANNING FUEL IMPORTATION NOT SUSTAINING SUBSIDY "SUBSIDY IS THE BIGGEST FRAUD EVER "

WE NEED REFINERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!

offroad:

GUYZ I THINK OUR PROTEST AND REVOLUTION AGAINST THIS GOVT SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON BANNING FUEL IMPORTATION NOT SUSTAINING SUBSIDY "SUBSIDY IS THE BIGGEST FRAUD EVER "

WE NEED REFINERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nymph node:

I need to know 1: How long would it take to build refineries 2: How will the pump price fall when we finally those refineries. 3: Would they be able to stop the bunkerers from exporting refined products to neighbouring countries?

These are the issues they ignore.

http://saharareporters.com/interview/oil-subsidy-fiction-okonjo-iweala-here-seduce-people-accept-callous-oil-subsidy-removal-ta

Very, very interesting, hope this is not gonna derail the thread.

Kolababa:

Are those middle operators the government is reffering to bigger than the government? I cannt imagine Barak Obama talking about cabal sabotaging food subsidy in US. Nigerians, dont support inefficiency and weakness of the government. Are we buffoons? Dont we have senses? Do they think we are intellectually bankrupt? Na wa o for the government of Nigeria.

They ll tell us after the removal of the subsidy that another cabal emerged from no where n embezzled the money