The President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr. Festus Osifo has asserted that Nigerians are not against the government ending its subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), however, they are awaiting its trust before believing in any plans by the government.
Osifo who had made this known while participating in a panel discussion at the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC) Strategic International Conference held in Lagos on Thursday.
Africa Today News, New York gathered that the session’s theme was ‘Energy Transition, PIA, Petroleum Pricing and the Way Forward for the Downstream Sector.’
He observed that the majority of Nigerians were only interested in access to economical and dependable energy and were not particularly interested in energy conversion.
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The complicated issue of PMS subsidy, according to Osifo, who is also the president of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), has prevented the downstream sector from reaching its maximum potential.
He pointed out that in addition to interacting with the populace to influence attitudes, the government must set an example by eliminating waste and making sacrifices that will aid Nigeria in overcoming its fiscal problems.
‘The Presidency should come out and say that they are reducing their budget. The National Assembly also needs to do so. That is leading by example.’
‘Nigerians are not really averse to the subsidy removal but the government must be ready to demonstrate not just by talking but by doing and by acting.’
‘The government must demonstrate that if subsidy must go, this must reflect in our education, it must reflect in our healthcare and also our level of infrastructure.’
‘So, the trust deficit that Nigerians have must be addressed before we can make any progress,’ Osifo said.
The government’s N5 trillion subsidy payment, according to Adeosun, who was represented by Mr. Clement Isong, Executive Secretary, MOMAN, is unsustainable and placing a significant burden on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
The ideal course of action, according to him, was to completely privatize the industry, let market forces set the price, and invest the money saved on subsidies in other crucial sectors like public transportation, healthcare, and education.
In a similar vein, Dr. Gabriel Ogbechie, Group Managing Director, Rainoil Ltd., reported that the price of PMS was currently N516 per liter on average worldwide, significantly higher than the N175 per liter it was being marketed for in Nigeria.
Ogbechie recommended that the government implement a fuel tax, in addition, to privatizing in order to finance the upkeep and development of vital infrastructure from across the nation.