“Fix refineries before removing subsidy” – Osun Defender, December 13, 2011
Former Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd) yesterday called for the repair of the refineries before the removal of fuel subsidy.
He said fuel subsidy should be withdrawn with minimal pain to the people as he called for an end to importation of petroleum products.
Gen. Gowon spoke in Umuahia where, on behalf of the Carter Fundation Centre, distributed mosquito treated nets and initiated collaboration with the Abia State government on prevention of malaria.
He also visited the Government House where he was received by Deputy Governor Emeka Ananaba.
The former Head of State said:
“If all the refineries in the country are working at normal capacity and importation of petroleum products is stopped, the price of fuel will stabilise and the suffering of the people will be reduced.”
Gen. Gowon said if the contrary is done, the prices of goods and services will be too high for the common man, adding that the problem that will come after it might be too much for those in authority to handle.
He advised that the funds that will be saved from the removal of fuel subsidy should be channelled into infrastructure and other amenities.
On the late Dim Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the former Biafran leader, Gen. Gowon said: “He was a man who fought and defended the right of Ndigbo for them to stand on their own. His death is a great loss not only to the Igbo race but to the entire country.”
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) also warned President Jonathan against withdrawal of fuel subsidy.
The Labour organisation urged the President not to listen to the dictate of the international monetary organisations but re-direct his energy towards fulfilling his campaign promoters.
NLC Vice President Issa Aremu stated Labour’s position in Lokoja at the weekend during the 10th year memorial colloquium in honour of the late Prof. Bade Onimode.
He said fuel subsidy is a “dog action sold to Jonathan by agents of the World Bank”.
Describing the planned removal of fuel subsidy as an abuse of the President’s mandate, Aremu said: “The President should follow his transformation agenda by first putting a stop to oil theft, rehabilitation and construction of new refineries as well as ensuring accelerated passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) before the National Assembly.
“Subsidy removal is the same old song which Nigerians have been serially subjected to since the late 1980s. Therefore, it must be rejected. The struggle to halt this anti- masses policy is not that of NLC alone, but the entire people of Nigeria.”
Aremu said labour does “not know the existence of any subsidy. We challenge the government to prove their point,” eh said.
According to him, the government is only trying to hang the burden of the failure of governance and the NNPC as an institution on the already over stressed Nigerians. There is no alternative to good governance, Aremu said.
[The following is a blog on the story on Osun Defender’s website. I think it’s worth being read along with the story in spite of the fact that these claims are not verified. After all, there are daily mind-boggling news reports of purported sordid happenings at NNPC & related agencies: Senators are reportedly asking “the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), for example, to explain how the 445,000 barrels of crude oil allocated to it daily are managed”, etcetera. TOLA.]
- Patrick Agbobu
December 13, 2011 – 3:10 pm
This is just a a small part of the saga. Every person in the trade knows, what happened to the missing daily crude. Can they tell us why the excess crude account, is an off shore account and tell us those that control it. Can they tell us why Duke Oil was set up and what is its main function. Can they throw more light on distressed crude and why it is always greatly discounted at destination and who benefits from it. Nigerians you have not seen anything. IBB was the person who institutionalised these chinnanigan and copted all former Heads of state. This is how they continue to mentain their lavish life styles. Top management of the NNPC past and present are also involved. Now Gowon is the Chairman of the China Oil company in Nigeria, very soon we will hear of the 50 billion dollars, that company wants to give us for our oil rights. Fellow Nigerians we are in trouble. There is no person and i mean no person, no institution and I mean no institution in Nigeria today, that can force the NNPC to do full disclosure of their activities.
I challenge the so called National Assemblies to venture it. I will assure you that they too can not. How can a Nation keep and mentain off shore accounts and companies, which are not audited or in the public domain, even the parliaments no nothing about them. Can any one tell me what destroyed our Naira? Before IBB the naira was almost One naira to the pound. Do Nigerians know that the then military regime of IBB made the Nigeria Mint Company to deliver naira to them on a montly basis and this naira never went through the records of vthe Central Bank. Abacha then made them deliver 6 times what they were delivering to IBB. Nigerians I repeat we are in a big trouble, we are in a terrible mess.
Who says that NNPC do not know where the daily missing crude is. Ask NNPC why they are posting staff members, to Duke OIL, CARLSTON, VITOIL, ETC. Ask them why they are mentaining and running secret bank off shore accounts. Ask them why they are running off shore companies and who the finance officers, signatories are and who they are reporting to. All the former Heads and present Heads of state, all top management staff of the NNPC past and present, the same with the CBN, Ministry of Finance and the ministry of pertroleum should speak up. They and their cronnies are the beneficiaries of this missing crude. There is nothing secret under the Sun and all will soon be released.