Sheathe your sword over fuel subsidy removal, Oodua groups urges NLC, TUC

A coalition, Oodua Self-Determination Groups, has pleaded with the Nigerian workers, under the umbrella of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), to sheathe their swords over planned strike on fuel subsidy removal, saying that the two Unions should give peace a chance as well as the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu new government which had already begun the most robust move, since 1999, to put the refineries in order and bring them back to work, among others.

The self-determination groups, comprising Oodua Youth Movement (OYM) led by Comrade Razaq Olokooba, Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) headed by Bunmi Fasheun, OPC New Era under Comrade Salam Arogundade, among others made the plea at a press conference which took places at Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos and attended members of the groups from across the country.

This was just as the coalition, which maintained that they were speaking on behalf of the Yoruba people, vowed that no part of the South-West shall be available for any fuel-subsidy unrest or other unrests, demanding that the proposed protests and civil disobedience should be suspended immediately, while dialogue continues and the government is allowed to come up with lasting solutions that would drive the development of Nigeria and the welfare of the citizens.

Addressing the press on behalf of the groups, Comrade Olokooba, while making the appeal, noted that prices of the products could appear to be on the high side today due to deregulation, but assured that the situation can only be temporary.

According to him, a good example could be cited from the telecommunications industry, recalling that the market first opened in Nigeria, people bought SIM cards for as much as N50,000 but noted that in the face of stiff competition within the GSM industry, SIM cards today cost no more than N150, and sometimes free-of-charge.

We urge and plead with Nigerian workers, under the umbrella of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), to sheathe their swords, please. Let us give peace a chance. Let us give the new government a chance. The President has already begun the most robust move, since 1999, to put the refineries in order and bring them back to work.

“The Port Harcourt Refinery will roll out products before December. In addition to that, the government plans to dish out palliatives to 50 million Nigerians through a cash-transfer programme targeting the poor to cushion the effect of zero-fuel subsidy. Moreover, plans have been set in motion to upgrade the minimum wage from the current N30,000 to a higher figure.

“The joint Oodua Self-Determination Groups are speaking on behalf of the Yoruba people that no part of the South-West shall be available for any fuel-subsidy unrest or other unrests. The proposed protests and civil disobedience over the fuel subsidy should be suspended immediately, while dialogue continues and the government is allowed to come up with lasting solutions that will drive the development of Nigeria and the welfare of the citizens,” he said.

“If prices appear to be on the high side today due to deregulation, the situation can only be temporary. We should borrow lessons from the telecommunications industry.

“When the market opened, people bought SIM cards for as much as N50,000. In the face of stiff competition within the GSM industry, SIM cards today cost no more than N150, and are sometimes free of charge.

“This will happen in the oil industry. We must see NNPC as the equivalent of the NITEL in the telecommunications industry. NNPC monopoly is one factor leading to the high cost of petrol. In reality, Nigerians are paying for the greed of a cabal on the altar of corruption. The subsidy must go!” he added.

Olokooba saluted all Nigerians for this new democratic dispensation under Tinubu, congratulating the president and Vice President Kashim Shettima for the success of the handover and the inauguration, reminding the citizens of the wise saying that “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”

According to the rights activist, the new administration headed by President Tinubu having been in the saddle for just two weeks will need the support of everybody, to settle down without distractions into the job of building the economy and commonwealth of Nigeria, warning that the country at this stage of her “democratic longevity” cannot afford to become careless.

On fuel subsidy removal, Olokooba quickly recalled that the president had as “far back as during the campaigns” made no pretence that he would muster the political courage and the political will to take tough and hard decisions, saying that one of such hard decisions concerned the issue of fuel subsidy.

He pointed out that for this year 2023, Nigeria budgeted N11 trillion of its oil revenue on subsidising petrol alone, declaring that this cannot continue being “good money going down the drain, with little or nothing to show for it.”

“This huge amount can be channelled into solving our several deficits, including Infrastructural, housing, education, healthcare, and generally upgrading the quality of life for Nigerians. It will also help strengthen the naira.

“To keep the pump price of petrol at N165/litre, the Federal Government currently spends above N600 as subsidy on every litre of fuel consumed in Nigeria. Our daily petrol consumption in Nigeria is 66.8 million litres. Therefore, petrol subsidy costs the government N40.1 billion every single day and N1.243 trillion every month.

“Another reality is that if we don’t kill subsidy, subsidy will kill us. Has anyone wondered why is it that since the year 2000, when the Nigerian government gave about 20 refinery licences to private companies, not one refinery has been built, apart from Dangote? Simply, investors and licence-holders found they could not recover their investments due to the artificially low price structure caused by fuel subsidies. Total deregulation of the oil sector is the way to go,” he declared.

“Why do we think NNPC ended up being the sole importer of fuel to Nigeria? This is because other major importers boycotted importation as the pricing mechanism became neither unrealistic nor profitable.

“In the spirit of free enterprise, we need to let the market dictate and consumers have a choice of purchase. Competition, not monopoly, will bring about lower prices. The monopoly of fuel importation by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) alone must be discontinued,” he added.

In conclusion, Oodua Self-Determination Groups said it would continue to maintain that the system of government in operation in the country today under the 1999 Constitution remained unsustainable, calling on President Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to make it their priority to the restructuring of Nigeria into a True Federalism.

“In conclusion, Oodua Self-Determination Groups will continue to maintain that the system of government in operation today under the 1999 Constitution remains unsustainable. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and APC must make it their priority to Restructuring Nigeria into a True Federalism,” Olokooba said.

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