TOP POLITICIAN EXPOSES HOW GOVERNORS AND MINISTER WHO FORCED BUHARI INTO FUEL SUBSIDY REMOVAL
Daily Trust reports that the
official who pleaded anonymity said in Abuja on Saturday, May 14 that
President Buhari was concerned about the effect of increasing fuel price
to N145 on common Nigerians and had resisted the minister of state for
petroleum’s proposals for several months. He said however the president
“succumbed reluctantly this month when he (Buhari) was presented with
the stark reality of the dropping oil earnings and foreign reserves
situation.”
The official said apart from this,
“pressure from state governors whose allocation from FAAC has been
dropping was also a significant factor that swayed the president.” He
said Buhari would not have agreed to the new fuel pricing if he had not
been presented with evidence that Nigeria’s declining foreign earnings
from oil would be further devastated unless independent oil marketers
and other interested entities are encouraged to import fuel.
The official said: “The amount required
for fuel importation alone will easily take about more than half of the
$550m foreign earnings. If the country continues doing that the oil
revenue left for FAAC sharing would be significantly reduced with the
possibility that a situation where there would be nothing left to share
between federal government, states and local governments exists in the
near future. “Although NNPC is meant to supply only 50 per cent of the
local fuel supply and independent marketers making up the balance, none
of the marketers has been able to source forex from the CBN this year
and therefore cannot sell at the prevailing price regime and make a
profit.
If the federal government continues with NNPC alone importing
oil, and trying to fill the gap left by the independent marketers by
dedicating more export crude for domestic consumption, the depleting
impact on the oil earnings would continue to worsen.
And when this is added to the fact that
already about 27 states cannot pay salaries because of the dwindling
foreign earnings, the situation becomes even worse. Even some oil
producing states like Bayelsa are affected.
With the drastic reduction
in the foreign earnings in April, what would be shared at the next FAAC
is expected to be the least ever, when the meagre $550m oil earnings are
converted to Naira.
The sharp reduction in government
revenue particularly from oil earnings due to low price regime in the
international market has been exacerbated by domestic factors such as
recent sabotage by disgruntled and faceless militants in the Niger
Delta”.
Meanwhile, the minister of labour
and employment, Chris Ngige, urged Nigerians to endure the hike in the
price of petrol, adding that the government action was influenced by the
need to reposition the economy into a productive one.
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