By FRANKLIN ALLI
The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry,
Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has called on the Federal
Government to douse the raging fuel subsidy removal protests
across the country by adopting phased subsidy removal.
In a position statement, forwarded to the Presidency and made
available to journalists in Lagos, NACCIMA said: “We agree with
the Federal Government that fuel subsidy removal is inevitable
with deregulation of the downstream sub-sector of the
petroleum industry.
“However, we are convinced that the timing of this removal is
wrong and did not address the immediate effect on the citizens
and business and may not achieve the desired result.
“We, therefore, counsel as follows “Government should diligently
re-consider the adoption of phased subsidy removal that relates
closely with available local production
“The existing four refineries should be maintained to become
fully functional within six (6) months, and thereafter made ready
for privatisation under the Chairmanship of Mr. Vice President.
“Government should consider and revise its decision for an
agreed period to enable the Belgore Committee to determine
the true cost of the subsidy by first removing/extracting alleged
corruption element
“The Government should urgently push for the speedy passage
of the Petroleum Industry Bill, which has the capacity to
generate more than US$5 billion in savings for the country
annually. “All private operators previously granted licenses for
refineries should be required to be re-invited to partner with
Government and be assured of the supply of feed-stock of crude
oil; the refusal of which NACCIMA understands aborted their
intervention
*The importation and distribution of petroleum products should
be considered sensitive enough to be made transparent at this
early stage.”
“However, the true subsidy must first be determined before
commencement of a phased removal, preferably after existing
and new private refineries are enabled and assisted to meet
nation’s demand. To avoid worsening corruption, inefficiency,
leakages and waste associated with public utilities, Government
should resist the temptation to build and operate new refineries,
while existing ones should be privatised.
If Government had been more advisedly patient and allow for
on-going apparently meaningful and effective consultations to
be concluded, in addition to the awaited National Assembly
conclusion, it would have been much easier to douse tensions,
even as we accept the saying that “If a Leader would wait for
everyone to changes, nothing would ever be accomplished.”
Thursday, January 12, 2012
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Nigerians defy order to end strikeThursday, January 12, 2012Agence France-PresseA man demonstrates at Gani Fawehinmi Park in LagosWednesday in the third day of a nationwide strike protestingagainst President Goodluck Jonathan's government for scrappinghis country's oil subsidy.Photographed by:Pius Utomi Ekpei, AFP, Getty Images, Agence France-PresseTens of thousands of Nigerians defied an order to end a three-day-old strike Wednesday as unions threatened to halt output inAfrica's top crude producer and a mob rampage left a policeofficer dead.The strike over soaring fuel prices sank the continentalheavyweight deeper into crisis, with deadly religious violencethat saw four Christians gunned down on Wednesday, sparkingwarnings of a looming civil war.The tensions have left the global oil market watching anxiouslyand President Goodluck Jonathan facing his toughest challengesince he was elected last year.Despite a government order late Tuesday that labelled the strikeillegal and threatened to withhold pay, protesters took to thestreets as gangs of youths burnt tires and harassed drivers forcash.Pockets of Lagos, the largest city in Africa's most populous nation,descended into chaos, including one upscale neighbourhood,with gangs attacking a police car with sticks and ripping downsignposts.The main groups of protesters in Lagos however remainedpeaceful, with about 10,000 people at one of the largestdemonstrations dancing and singing anti-government songs.Some vowed they would begin camping out there."I am here with my water and toothbrush because we are notleaving this arena until our demand for fuel at 65 naira (40 cents)is met," said Akinola Oyebode, a 23-year-old at the main protestin Lagos.He was referring to the price of a litre of gas before governmentsubsidies were controversially scrapped from Jan. 1."We shall not be intimidated by the police because our protest islegitimate and constitutional."In the central city of Minna, a mob went on the rampage, burningpolitical offices, leaving a police officer dead and prompting anall-day curfew. The cause of the violence was not immediatelyclear.In Kano, the largest city in the north, a massive crowd estimatedin the tens of thousands marched through the streets.Protesters and police had clashed in Kano on Monday, leaving atleast two people shot dead, but no incidents were reported onWednesday.Oil production has so far not been affected by the strike, butworkers threatened action if the government does not respond totheir demands."We hereby direct all production platforms to be on red alert inpreparation for total production shutdown," PENGASSAN unionpresident Babatunde Ogun said in a statement as union officialsmet in the oil hub of Port Harcourt.The other oil workers' union, NUPENG, also threatened ashutdown.Tens of thousands have turned out this week for protestsnationwide over the government's move to end fuel subsidies,which caused gasoline prices to more than double in a countrywhere most people live on less than $2 per day.At least six people were killed on the first day of protests,including one person allegedly shot by police in Lagos.Local media reported that three others were killed insouthwestern Ogun and Osun states on Tuesday, one by a policeofficer, but authorities have not confirmed the deaths.Meanwhile, spiralling ethnic and religious violence in variousparts of the country has fuelled further chaos amid warnings of awider conflict in a country roughly divided between a mainlyMuslim north and predominantly Christian south.Twenty people were killed in four separate incidents in the latestsuch violence.The attacks included the shooting dead of four Christian Igbos onWednesday by suspected members of Islamist group Boko Haramon the outskirts of the northeastern city of Potiskum, according toresidents.Yobe state, where Potiskum is located and which has been hit byrepeated violence, also declared a night curfew.Separately, a police station in the northeastern city of Yola wasattacked by unknown gunmen on Wednesday, killing one officer,police said.Boko Haram has been blamed for scores of attacks, and in recentweeks has claimed responsibility for violence targeting Christians,who have vowed to defend themselves.A video has emerged on YouTube purporting to show suspectedBoko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau sending a message to thepresident, but the person in the clip appears significantly differentfrom previous images said to be of Shekau.Thursday, January 12, 2012
Agence France-Presse
A man demonstrates at Gani Fawehinmi Park in Lagos
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