₦airaland Forum

If this happens to me there will be problem o...

Equity over equality.

Jtown hustlerz....

if u no get u better change church...

lolz....atall

Before I proceed with my closing argument, I want to give a Shoutout out tho my opponents : Betacitizen and Menzo4u, this debate was both expository and interesting!


The removal of fuel subsidy indeed comes with some perilous implications, which is obviously ,
Most felt by the masses, However and fortunately too there are measures the Government can take to minimize this implications BEFORE the remove the fuel subsidy, and those measures include : building, if possible, sophisticated refineries ( with the option of renovating the existing ones to maximum potential), providing quality palliative measures, increasing minimum wage and providing sufficient welfare packages, only then will the removal of fuel subsidy be justified.
Obizeal for UNIJOS.

menzo4u:
But you said no "plans" and I just showed you the "plans".

That was a news headline and not a plan.

menzo4u:
Ok, now I understand you, mutual benefits like leaving our refineries "dead" without any attempt to revamp them but continue to pay the oil marketers right?

Mutual benefits like spending trillions of naira on oil subsidy when we have no efficient infrastructure on ground, poor health system, poor eductation system among others?

You got it all wrong Sir.
Prosecution is already on the way but we say NO to fuel subsidy.

No sir, the Government, not the marketers, are the ones that are suppose to build and maintain our refineries.
The Government, and not the marketer are suppose to provide us with good infrastructure, quality education and better health care.
If the have failed to do that, its is not fair to blame anybody else.
Like I said earlier, there are allocations for all these things you have mentioned above, you cannot say because the Government have failed to implement those allocations, the subsidy should be removed.
The removal of subsidy now is not justifiable.

menzo4u:
Contrary to your claims, there are already schemes and programs on ground on how the subsidy removal will be used to bring diversification into the economy by meeting some foreign investors (according to President Buhari).

You can more on the program here

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/buhari-plans-diversification-of-nigerias-economy-in-2016-budget/

Sir, you can't reply me with a link that has a head line, I will like you to outline succinctly, the practical steps that have been taken and not show me a statement where the president ' PLANS TO' diversify the economy.

menzo4u:
The difference lies in their respective requests. ASUU seek to improve the education sector and improve lecturers' welfare, while the oil marketers seek to always increase their wealth through the subsidy.
Mind you, if the government grant ASSU's request it brings mutual benefit to both lecturers and students, but marketers on the other hand get enriched while the poor get poorer.

When the Government grant the marketers' request it also brings mutual benefit to the populace and the marketers to.
Secondly if the Government feels marketers are cheating the country what have stopped the Government from prosecuting them?

Weedcrusher:
I must commend both parties for driving their points home.

My question for the pro-subsidy removal team is, what do you think will be the reaction of the populace if the subsidy is removed knowing that when the last government did so, we all know it resulted in the Occupy Nigeria facedown?

My question for the anti-subsidy removal team is, do you not think now is the appropriate time to remove the subsidy that gulp down a substantial amount of the government revenue since the global oil price is record low and our refineries have started working?

I will appreciate factual responses.

Sir the refineries are just producing a peanut compared to our daily fuel demand, we use over 40 million liters of Fuel a day and the producing just below seven Million liters of petrol a day.
I don't think this is the right time to remove fuel subsidy is now, I think the right time to remove fuel subsidy is when the have fixed the refineries to maximum capacity, sufficiently increased the minimum wage, provide palliative measures and provide sufficient welfare packages for the populace, until then, the removal of Fuel subsidy is unjustifiable.

menzo4u:
The case of ASUU and the oil marketers are two different things Sir, so it is illogical to bring it into this argument

They are both the same thing sir,you can point out their differences if you think otherwise, the both render services to the Government.

menzo4u:
The government cannot or must avoid the mistake of the past administration by first sanitizing the people on the need to remove subsidy to avoid economic hullabaloo. You remember, the former administration just removed subsidy on January 1st without due planning and sanitization, and we all know what they got in return.

And I Put it to you that this Government just made the same mistake!
No planning. No palliative measures, no increase in minimum wage, refineries are still down, no any form of reinvestment scheme, no concrete roadmap on how to diversify the economy...there is just no justification sir.

betacitizen:
The government? Did you forget that people like us are also the ones in government, they aren't machines. So, I hope you are aware of the current ongoing corruption war as regards the issue of arms deal? Don't you think combining such to facing oil sector will be a disaster? So, the governement is taking the step one after the other.

Mind you, there is no economic hardship for now, because the price of oil has fallen globally already, removing fuel subsidy pose no threat for now.

Are you trying to say The Federal Government Of Nigeria is not capable of multitasking?
So the whole country should be shut down because the Government is probing the arm scandal?
Of course not! If they want to, they can sanitize the oil sector, probe the arms deal and still give us good road and quality education at the same time.
Sir did you say there is no economic hardship? Do you know how much a dollar cost now?
Do have any idea the crises the CBN is facing? I will just assume you made a mistake on that statement.
Removal of Fuel subsidy at this time is unjustifiable.

menzo4u:
At this point, I will like to educate you. 2016 budget started its planning process since 2015, and the implementation of subsidy removal started in 2016, so it is technically impossible to make up for the areas where the re-investment of subsidy will be targeted for now. But by taking such steps, the coming year will definitely will be a joyful one for us as a nation. The process of transition from one stage to another is not a day job. So subsidy removal is still in that process for now.

Again sir, Your argument is flawed, if the Government started the budget planning process since 2015, it means they technically removed fuel subsidy in 2015 ( while planning 2016 budget) so they should have started the process of diversifying the economy too in 2015 ( while planning 2016 budget). And that we have to wait for a year, while not paying subsidy, to fugure out which area to diversify our economy is laughable.

menzo4u:
The best way to ensure "sanity" is to remove the fuel subsidy Sir. It was insanity when very few people who call themselves "oil marketers" have to hold Nigerians for ransom when the Federal Government is not able to meet their payment conditions on Subsidy. So sanity will be ensured when we do not have to depend on this cabal anymore, and ensure we look inwards to invest in other sectors of the economy.

There is nothing like torturing here, what we have is "sacrifice" which will temporary in order to free us from the bondage called oil subsidy. In fact, by removing subsidy, there will also be room for competition among all these oil marketers if you think about it very well

When ASUU Goes on their periodic strikes as a result of government not being able to reach their demands, holding the Government to ransom, do the Government resort to shouting down the public Universities so that there can be competition between the private Universities?
No, They don't! They dialogue, that's a characteristic of a good government.
Fuel subsidy removal cannot be justified.

betacitizen:
A proper understanding of your assertion above shows that you are refererring to nothing but corruption and the mismanagement of fund witnessed in the former administration. But if you will be sincere with me Sir, with the rate at which corruption is tackled now with various politcal "thieves" dancing in the net of the EFCC now, don't you think the point above is not relevant in the current political space?

Why don't the government flex this zeal to fight corruption in the oil sector?
Let them sanitize the oil sector and eliminate the so called cabal of the rich that have made the process of payment of subsidy opaque instead of removing fuel subsidy which will put the masses through unimaginable peril.

menzo4u:
Diversification of the economy is not something that can be done with a peanut Sir. It requires high level of financial commitment and planning. Or how on earth do you expect a country currently nursing to pay a number of debt and still spending such huge amount of fuel subsidy to embark on diversification? You made mention of solid minerals and agriculture, does the government not need to ensure some kind of blockage in financial waste to be able achieve this?

If you have gone through the proposed 2016 Budget, you will discover that fuel subsidy is comfortably missing, but if you look harder you will also discover that the 'high level financial commitment' as you said, have not been awarded to the sector which you said will be diversified with the removal of fuel subsidy. This is to further stress that the reason why our economy have not been diversified is not financial, its is rather political. What will you say about countries that pay fuel subsidy and still have been able to diversify their economy?
Lets not blame payment of fuel subsidy for not diversifying our economy, the reason is squarely political!

Mr Menzo4u , you made mention of Nigeria having erudite leaders like Buhari, Adesoun and Ibe Kachikwu at the helm of affairs who would make sure the money gotten from subsidy will not be diverted as has been the case in previous occasions, well, why don't this erudite leader sanitize the process Of payments of fuel subsidy instead. Halting fuel subsidy because of the corruption in the process can be liken to throwing the baby away with the bath water. We all all know you can't cut off the head because you have a headache, so also, the payment of subsidy cannot be stopped because some unscrupulous elements are being dishonest. The 'corruption intolerant' government should sanitize the oil industry and not torture the masses.

Betacitizen, you made mention in your debate that : The removal of fuel subsidy will make room for diversification of the economy, I put it to you that your argument is flawed. Payment of fuel subsidy and diversification of the economy are not mutually exclusive.
Our government can keep paying fuel subsidy and still diversify our economy if the political will is present.
Fuel subsidy is not the only item in our previous national budget, there have been provisions for other revenue producing sectors like agriculture and solid minerals, but the problem have been implementation, Nigeria is not the only country subsidizing petrol, but we are the only country that have been unable to diversify our economy, the passiveness of our government should be blamed for not diversifying our economy and not payment of fuel subsidy.

Good evening equitable judges, hardworking coordinators, fellow debaters and all knowledge seeking Nairalanders, I also want to send my unreserved appreciation to the creator of this forum, Mr. Seun Osewa, whose ingenuity has provided us with this platform to debate on pertinent issues surrounding our country’s development.

My Name is ObiZEAL and I am representing the noble students of UNIVERSITY OF JOS, my colleague and I will be answering the question; Is (the removal of fuel) subsidy justified in Nigeria?
Before I make known my answer, I will like to bother intellectuals following this debate with a few definitions as it concerns this debate and the Nigerian situation;
Fuel Subsidy: in the simplest terms, means the government is paying part of the cost of you purchasing a liter of petrol so that it will be affordable for you and other average Nigerians.
Secondly, justice (adjective: Justified) can be defined as the state of being fair.
With perfect understanding of the defined terms, I think it will be safe to rephrase the debate topic as thus: Is the act of government halting the reduction of fuel pump price so as to make it affordable for average Nigerians fair?
Well, my answer is No; the removal fuel subsidy is not justified in Nigeria. I will be rationalizing my position with the following points:


Firstly and simply too, the problem that led to the introduction of fuel subsidy have not been addressed, so it unjustifiable to halt the payment of fuel subsidy without addressing the problem that led to it’s inception in the first place. Fuel subsidy was introduced to Nigerians in the year 1986 and the reason was because our refineries where in a state of unrepair and could no longer produce enough fuel for our domestic consumption, the fuel subsidy was designed to last 6 months so as to give time to fix our refineries, but it have lasted for over 29 years and the refineries have still not been fixed. As at September 2015, our faulty refineries were producing a total of 6.76 million liters of petrol per day for a country which needs over 40 million liters of petrol per day, leaving the country with a deficit of about 33.34 million liters of petrol to be imported. Following the sanctity of this fact, one can authoritatively conclude that the removal of fuel subsidy will be justifiable only when Nigeria’s refineries start producing enough fuel for the daily consumption of Nigerians. I know my opponents might want to say that the money saved from the removal of fuel subsidy will be used to repair the refineries, well, I want to state succinctly that the reason why our refineries have been in a comatose state for over 27 years is because of the lack of political will and not the lack of funds.


To further fortify my position, which is to prove the unjustifiability of fuel subsidy removal, I will like to have us all look at the prospects of this action, it’s obvious to the informed that the reason why the discomfort caused by the removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria is still latent is because of the global fall of oil price. With oil selling for about $27.67 per barrel (as at 18th of January 2016), the average Nigerian can, after much struggle, manage to squeeze out 87 Naira to buy a liter of petrol. But by the other half of this year, when the price of oil increases (as predicted by BP's CEO, Mr. Bob Dudley) the pump price of petrol will consequently increase and it will become impossible for average Nigerians to survive, this will be made so because the government have removed fuel subsidy without putting in place any palliative measures, neither have they increased the minimum wage! The second half the year, which will come with an increased fuel price, will see the cost of transportation sky rocket and the cost foodstuff increase, consequently having a multiplier effect on every aspect of our daily lives which will eventually throw the citizenry into unimaginable hardship. Surely from the above point, it is not justifiable for a government to take away the only social benefit its people gets from it (which is petrol subsidy) without providing any welfare package, palliative measures or any form of increase in salaries.

Finally, for those who may have not yet been convinced that the removal of fuel subsidy is not justified in Nigeria, I will crave your indulgence to join me in looking at this fuel subsidy issue in retrospect. The immediate past government of Nigeria in January of 2012 took an action of totally removing fuel subsidy, this actions was met with a defiant reaction by the people who demanded, and rightfully so, that the payment of fuel subsidy be continued. After a historical drag between the government and the people, a compromise was reached, which consequently saw fuel subsidy partially removed. The government promised immediate provision of palliative measures to cushion the effect of the partial removal of fuel subsidy and also promised to reinvest the funds into the economy which will provide immediate and remote benefits for the country. I'm certain that 90% of the followers of this debate will agree with me that those palliative measures never went beyond our television screens, also if those funds where ever reinvested into our economy is an issue that have been widely debated. Considering this fact; that the money gotten from the partial removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria was unaccounted for, how does one intend to justify the total removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria? I hope my opponent will not make the error of saying that we are in a new political dispensation, because governance as we all know, is a continuous process.
However, if the government can fix our refineries, provide welfare packages and restore the lost trust, only then can the removal of fuel subsidy be justified in Nigeria.


References
http://www.ocnus.net/artman2/publish/Editorial_10/The-Full-Story-of-Fuel-Subsidy-Crisis.shtml
http://www.nnpcgroup.com/PublicRelations/NNPCinthenews/tabid/92/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/618/Refineries-Producing-676-Million-Litres-of-Petrol-per-Day-NNPC.aspx
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/2016/01/crude-oil-price-plunges-to-27-67-per-barrel
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35363066
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/fue,-subsidies-should-go/215710

.

in tha building!

...reppin' for UJ!

naijacarlovers:
I have read a lot of books in my lifetime, watched TV programs and engaged in other literary activities. In the course of doing these, I have come across lots of mistakes either in spelling, grammar or construction in the English used. But never have I seen any mistake in the Holy book, the Bible. I mean the proper bibles o. Awesome God.

Has anyone seen any?

If yes please answer with proof.

God bless us all.

dude the earth is round...what shape did the bible say it was again?

oppybouy:
Yes

oya find am now

samoy:
I have seen it but I won't tell u

big lie...prove it

Can you find the rabbit

Can you find the rabbit

My bro just got same...

...Someone said god loves us sooo much, but he created hell just incase we don't love him back..,