How to Make Fuel Affordable, By Ex-TUC Boss
Wants FG to quit petroleum products marketing
By Nnamdi Duru
The immediate past President-General of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Comrade Sina Luwoye, has proffered solutions to the perennial fuel crisis plaguing the country.
He said to make fuel affordable, government should waive all taxes charged on imported fuel for as long the nation's refineries are not working. He also pleaded with banks to reduce the rate of interest charged on loans meant for importation of petroleum products.
According to him, petroleum marketers, the bulk of whom he believes are Nigerians, should take the issue of products pricing beyond profit maximisation. Rather, he urged them to take it as an opportunity to serve Nigerians.
Luwoye, who is the immediate past President of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN), spoke in a telephone interview with THISDAY recently.
He called on the Federal Government as well as banks operating in the country to urgently embark on these measures to ensure that the prices of petroleum products were affordable to Nigerians.
He claimed that the Federal Government had been paying lip service to deregulation of the oil industry, arguing that if government really meant to deregulate the industry, it would have limited itself to being a watchdog on behalf of Nigerians rather than being a party to the pricing of the products.
He regretted that government had been acting like a business man out to maximise profit when it comes to issues bordering on importation and pricing of petroleum products. This, he said, negates government's constitutional role as custodian of the interest of Nigerians.
He therefore advised government to get its hands off petroleum products marketing while concentrating on its constitutional role of regulating the economy, the oil industry inclusive. In doing this, he maintained that government should not subsidise the activities of major oil marketers in any way.
On the pricing of petroleum products in the country, Luwoye posited that the primary role of government is to provide security and social services for Nigerians. The economic role, according to him, was secondary.
He equally blamed government for not adequately empowering the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to enforce compliance with relevant regulations and directives as required under deregulation.
In addition, he advised government to as a matter of necessity waive all taxes on imported fuel products while rehabilitating the four refineries in the country. Luwoye was of the opinion that if government does this, the pump price of petroleum products would be considerably reduced.
The former TUC boss therefore advised government to take the above seriously in all its decisions on fuel pricing while empowering DPR to ensure marketers were penalised in future.
Luwoye also pleaded with banks operating in the country to do their own bidding in ensuring that fuel products were affordable to Nigerians.
He advised banks to reduce the rates of interest charged on loans meant for importation of petroleum products into the country as it would go a long way to bring down the pump price of petroleum products.
He pleaded with this group of Nigerians to see themselves as rendering an important service to their country men, and ensure that the social responsibility of their business was not overlooked.
The nation has just survived another round of industrial crisis as a result of another hike in the price of petroleum products. Late last month, oil marketers raised the price of petroleum products to N51 per litre owing to the increase in the price of crude oil on the international market.
The Nigerian labour movement, in conjunction with civil society organisations across the country, commenced a 21-day nationwide which was suspended after the third day when government and oil marketers were believed to have reverted to the old price of N41 per litre.
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