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Yakassai seeks fresh stakeholders meeting on fuel issues
By Augustine
Madu-West
Special
Correspondent,
Kano
A former presidential adviser, Alhaji Tanko
Yakassai, has faulted the Federal Government Palliative Committee led by
Senator Ibrahim Mantu to recommend measures to cushion the effects on Nigerians
of the recent increase in the prices of petroleum products, which sparked off a
four-day warning strike.
The committee submitted its recommendations
last week.
Yakassai, who was Adviser on National
Assembly Matters to former President Shehu Shagari said in Kano on Sunday that
the terms of references of the Mantu-led committee were limited in scope and
composition and could only offer recommendations that would allow for short
term solution of the problems plaguing the oil sector.
Disapproving of government’s response
to the situation, he said, “I have been a strong supporter of
government’s policy on deregulation and withdrawal of subsidy on the
downstream petroleum sector because I know from experience that the public has
never benefited from the subsidy as the huge amount invested in petroleum ended
up in pockets of black marketers and bunkerers to the detriment of the masses
who bare the brunt of the problem.
“To end this crisis, two things must
be done, namely: a meeting of stakeholders to discuss the issue of petroleum
products in its entirety so as to get input from them and find a solution that
could address the concerns of all and sundry,” he said.
The elder statesman said such exercise
should include federal, state and local governments, employees associations,
manufacturers associations and professional bodies like the Nigerian Bar
Association, Labour and the legislature which is the representative of the
people, representatives of the market women and other interested bodies. He
added that solution from such broad based meetings would ensure a far-reaching
and lasting understanding.
Tanko said, “Government should withdraw
from the importation of refined products so that marketers will be given free
hands to source the products from where they could allow market force and
competition to determine the pump price of the products.
According to him, “at present where
the government declare publicity that it has deregulated the sector and NNPC is
still the organisation responsible for preparing and allocating the products,
as big as there is any government agency involved in the headline of the
product including importation. There will continue to see instability in the
system.
The former All Nigerian Peoples Party
chieftain reminded labour that going in persistent strike to protest the price
hike does not solve the situation, neither did it help the nation. He said an
estimated N5 billon was lost daily in the 4-day warning strike recently,
“this s apart from the colossal loss incurred by the nation during the
previous strikes. “the end losers in such strikes is the common.
“This estimate does not include losses incurred by petty traders, market
women, transporters and the resultant increase in prices of commodities arising
from such development.
“Nobody can pin point the
beneficiaries of the number of strikes the nation has witnessed in recent
times, so I will appeal to the federal government and labour to think of the
plight of the common man and device ways that will better the lots of the
common men rather than causing more hardship on the masses.
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