Govs, 2 ministers insist on subsidy removal – Investigation

January 14, 2012 at 1:59 am by Daily Post Staff

Indications emerged in Abuja on Friday that if not for the insistence of some governors and ministers, President Goodluck Jonathan would have agreed to the demand of labour and reversed the price of petrol to N65 per litre.

Sources at the meeting held at the Presidential Villa on Thursday evening before the arrival of labour leaders, said that the governors insisted that the President must not buckle.

The meeting, which was held before the arrival of the labour leaders, was called to enable the government present a common position before meeting with labour and civil society leaders.

Jonathan had met behind closed doors with Vice-President Namadi Sambo; Senate President David Mark; his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu; Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim.

Others at the first meeting were Governors Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers); Liyel Imoke (Cross River); Adams Oshiomhole (Edo); Gabriel Suswam (Benue); Babangida Aliyu (Niger); and Peter Obi (Anambra). Also at the meeting were the Ministers of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga; Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke; Justice, Bello Adoke; Labour, Emeka Wogu and Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu.

A source at the meeting said a majority of the governors told the President that if he backed down, he (the President) must be ready to scrap the Sovereign Wealth Fund.

The governors were said to have agreed to the setting up of the SWF with an understanding with the President that subsidy would be removed to enable them have more money to run their states.

The governors had earlier insisted that the SWF was illegal and that they would not be part of it. In several of their meetings, under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, they had vowed to work against it, saying that the passage into law the act that set the SWF up by the National Assembly was an error.

But Nigerians were taken aback when after making such noise about it, the governors later attended a ceremony where the fund was launched by the Federal Government.

Based on this, the governors were said to have informed the President at the Thursday meeting that they would ask that the SWF be scrapped if he decided to reverse the withdrawal of the subsidy.

The source said, “The governors were very clear that apart from the fact that it would show the President as being weak, it would be wrong for him to back out of an agreement he reached with them. “In the alternative, they asked that he could ask that the deregulation would either take off or government would increase the price of fuel significantly pending the final take-off day for deregulation.”

The source said that Alison-Madueke and Okonjo-Iweala insisted that the President needed not to back down.

Though other ministers at the meeting were said to have supported the two women, it was gathered that the two female ministers were insistent in their arguments on the need for the President to remain steadfast in the face-off.

“All the ministers, including the VP and the SGF were in favour of deregulation, except the Senate President, who advised that in the matter, the two parties must shift ground.

“I must tell you that it was the issue of security that made the government to shift ground. Left for the ministers, the government would not back down,” the source added.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party has hailed the decision of both labour and the government to shift ground on the raging matter.
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Interesting drama. Let's see the final outcome at the end of 2day.

[b]
Jonathan had met behind closed doors with Vice-President Namadi Sambo; Senate President David Mark; his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu; Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim.

Others at the first meeting were Governors Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers); Liyel Imoke (Cross River); Adams Oshiomhole (Edo); Gabriel Suswam (Benue); Babangida Aliyu (Niger); and Peter Obi (Anambra). Also at the meeting were the Ministers of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga; Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke; Justice, Bello Adoke; Labour, Emeka Wogu and Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu

The source said, “The governors were very clear that apart from the fact that it would show the President as being weak, it would be wrong for him to back out of an agreement he reached with them. “In the alternative, they asked that he could ask that the deregulation would either take off or government would increase the price of fuel significantly pending the final take-off day for deregulation.”

The source said that Alison-Madueke and Okonjo-Iweala insisted that the President needed not to back down.[/b]

Gbam!

The more you look. . . the less you know!!!
Mu he he he he he

nobody will pitch me against another ,not on this issue or another. seriously deregulation is good but can we trust GEJ and his team?, why can it be done in phases from april as promised,why not let 2 out of the existing refineries work optimally first

I am guessing with the security situation around us, GEJ cannot afford to add people revolt to it. And I also guess NLC,TUC and civil societies have a window to press home their demands plus the fact that they ve a point! So for govt is a must to go back to #65 or else I see trouble brewing seriously next week! Plus pple now listen more to the civil societies than govt sef, anyway let's see what pans out today