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| Femi Falana |
Femi
Falana, Lagos-based human rights lawyer, says President Muhammadu
Buahri has reneged on his campaign promise of not increasing the pump
price of petrol.
Describing the increase as illegal, the
lawyer demanded a reversal to the old rate. He said the government
lacked statutory power to introduce new price regime because the body
empowered to take such decision is yet to be constituted.
He also advised Buhari not to allow “neo-liberal ideologues, with intent to punish the people” hijack his administration.
Falana said this in a statement issued on Friday.
Below is the full statement
During
the campaign last year, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress,
General Muhammadu Buhari pledged that if elected as President by the
Nigerian people his administration would not remove fuel subsidy. Since
he won the election last year President Buhari has consistently resisted
pressures from the neo-liberal characters in the government to remove
fuel subsidy and increase the price of petrol. On January 18, 2016 the
federal government allayed the fear of Nigerians when the price of
petrol was reduced to N86.50k per litre. In justifying the decision to
the people the federal government claimed that the reduction was due to
an implementation of the revised component of the Petroleum Products
Pricing Template for PMS and household kerosene.
It
would be recalled that following the popular agitation against the
removal of fuel subsidy in 2012, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources had
announced the decision of the Goodluck Jonathan administration to set
up 30 green field refineries in the country.
Shortly
thereafter, the policy was jettisoned due to pressure from the cabal of
local fuel importers. In 2013, the Jonathan administration secured a
loan of $1.6 billion for the maintenance of the country’s four
refineries. At the end of the repairs the refineries could only refine
about 80,000 barrels of crude oil per day instead of 445,000 barrels
earmarked for domestic consumption.
The Buhari
administration has also spent millions of dollars for the so called turn
around maintenance of the refineries. Barely a month ago, Dr. Kachikwu
had announced that fuel subsidy had been removed through his ingenuity.
In celebrating the “success” recorded by him in the management of the
petroleum industry he disclosed that Nigeria was saving $1 billion in
subsidy removal and $1 billion in fuel importation. He also stated that
“for the first time, our refineries are ready to work now. Crude has
been pumped from Brass to Port Harcourt.
Pipeline is
being used for the first time in 10 years for the first time in six
years. For the first time we are able to pump to Ilorin, we have not
done that in 10 years.” (Nigerian Tribune, March 16, 2016). Curiously,
Dr. Kachikwu’s “giant strides” in the petroleum industry appear to have
collapsed completely before our very eyes!
Hence, without
any public debate or consultation with relevant stakeholders whatsoever
the federal government took the Nigerian people by surprise yesterday
when it decided to increase the pump price of petrol from N86.50k to
N145 per litre. Not too long ago, the federal government had supported
the imposition of higher tariffs paid on epileptic supply of electricity
by consumers.
In sentencing the Nigerian people to
excruciating economic agony the Ministry of Power defied a court order
which had restrained the government from giving effect to the proposed
electricity tariff. In the same vein, the decision to increase the price
of petrol is also illegal and contemptuous. In the case of Bamidele
Aturu versus Attorney-General of the Federation (unreported suit No.
FHC/ABJ/CS/591/2009) the Federal High Court declared illegal and
unconstitutional the policy decision of the federal government to
deregulate the downstream sector of the petroleum industry contrary to
the combined effect of the provisions of the Price Control Act and the
Petroleum Act.
In total defiance of the said order of
the federal high court the federal government has deregulated the
downstream sector of the petroleum industry. In justifying the illegal
policy, Dr. Kachikwu claimed that “PPPRA has informed me that it will be
announcing a new price band effective today, 11th May, 2016 and that
the new price for PMS will not be above N145 per litre.”
Since
the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) which is
statutorily empowered to recommend the price of petroleum products has
not been reconstituted the unilateral decision of the Executive
Secretary of the body to fix the pump price at N145 per litre is ultra
vires and illegal in every material particular. In view of the
illegality, insensitivity and immorality of the price increase the
federal government should cancel it, revert to the status quo and
consult widely with all relevant stakeholders in the society.
However,
due to the ongoing fuel crisis in the country the Directorate of
Petroleum Resources (DPR) recently invited fresh bids for the setting up
modular refineries. At the end of the screening exercise sometime in
March this year the DPR announced that it had awarded 22 licences for
modular refineries with combined capacities to refine 1.429 million
barrels of crude oil per day. If the policy is genuinely pursued the
construction of the refineries ought to be completed within the 9-12
months. If such refineries are established in the country the
importation of fuel and the fraud associated with it will stop. In the
interim, instead of importing oil from Europe and the United States the
NNPC should refine crude oil for domestic consumption in neighbouring
countries which have functional refineries. After all, Nigeria refines
60,000 barrels of crude oil per day in Cote d’ivoire which is not an oil
producing nation.
If subsidy had been removed over a
month ago and the country has been saving $2 billion (from fuel
importation and subsidy removal) while the refineries are now working at
full capacity Dr. Kachikwu should tell Nigerians the justification for
the new removal of fuel subsidy announced by him yesterday. The cost
elements that make up the N145 are provocative. If the total landing
cost of a litre and other charges are fixed at N138 what is the basis of
fixing the price at N145? For goodness sake, why should motorists be
made to pay NPA/NIMASA charges, demurrage within and without /storage/
bridging charges etc?
At this stage President Buhari
ought to prevent neo-liberal ideologues from hijacking the
administration for the purpose of punishing the Nigerian people for the
looting of the treasury and mismanagement of the national economy.
Contrary to the position of the parasitic ruling class that prices of
goods and services be fixed by market forces the federal government has a
legal obligation to protect the people from exploitation. For instance,
the virtual collapse of electricity supply has forced many corporate
bodies and individuals to invest heavily in generators and diesel
throughout the country. Although the price of diesel has crashed all
over the world it has continued to increase in Nigeria due to
manipulation. The federal government should, as a matter of urgency,
abolish the monopoly in the importation and sale of diesel. There is no
justification for the monopolistic control of goods and services under a
free market economy!
Source:@thecableng
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