*NECA backs review, oil price hits $52 per barrel
ABUJA — TALKS be tween the Federal Government and affiliates of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on the latest fuel price hike broke down yesterday, even with the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA) throwing its weight behind labour on the need to review the price hike. The development may force up already soaring world oil prices which yesterday climbed towards $52 dollars a barrel.
The House of Representatives, reacting to the price, yesterday, asked government to revert to the old prices, and set up a 17-man committees to negotiate between labour and government on the planned strike.
The government/labour talks ended without agreement after the NLC kicked over what it termed low-level government delegation. Government had sent the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Labour, Mrs Timiebi Korimapa-Agary, to negotiate. A disappointed NLC President, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole snapped: “If I am going to make contributions, the intention is to try to persuade someone else ... that person cannot be the permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Labour.
“The executive is absent from this meeting unfortunately and we do need to talk to the executive. We need a political solution; not price modulators, price fixers." Mr Funso Kupolokun, Group Managing Director of the NNPC was also there.
Director General of the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Mr. Segun Osinowo, also complained about the level of government representation, saying, “the government should think of constituting a more highly powered team which will involve other stakeholders to take the issue on as quickly as possible.”
Both sides said that a smaller group might meet at an unspecified time later in the week, while the NLC was due to meet the Senate later in the day. “I am very confident that if we put our minds together to it and quickly meet, we can still submit something to the government tomorrow morning for government to take on at a higher level,” Korimapa-Agary said.
Mr. Oshinowo said: "The issue here has nothing to do with labour dispute. It is a national dispute. We need a level much higher than this and the longer we stay here the less time we have. It is a complex issue and this is not the first time we are walking this road and the question to ask is what has government learnt in terms of labour unrest, deregulation and ultimatum. This country cannot afford another strike and we are convinced that there is need to review the fuel price.”
Reps ask govt to revert to old prices
The House of Representatives yesterday asked the executive to revert to the old prices of petroleum products, and set up a 17-man committee to negotiate between organised labour and government over the impending strike over the increment.
In a motion brought by the House leader and 16 others, the House noted that the recent price increment was having a telling effect on the masses of the country and should be reconsidered by government. The House leader, Alhaji Abdul Ningi, who led the debate on the motion noted that though reforms were necessary ingredients in the history of a country’s development, the well-being of the masses should be upper most in the minds of leaders carrying out this reform.
He regretted that though the deplorable condition of the refineries were not caused by the present government, it should do all within its powers to rectify the situation in order to alleviate the suffering of the people.
The House leader wondered why the allocations for the Turn Around Maintenance of the four refineries had not been accounted for despite the fact that the money had been released to the appropriate authorities.
Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Pricing and Marketing, Mr. Peter Igbodo, in his argument noted that the deregulation of the present government was faulty as the necessary infrastructure that would ensure its success, had not been provided. He noted that in countries where deregulation was working, an enabling environment had been created for its success, pointing out that the Nigerian government couldn’t run away from subsidizing the prices of petroleum products.
Leader of the All Nigeria Peoples Party in the House, Mr. Ahmad Salik, condemned the recent price increase by government, noting that necessary provisions had not been made for its success.
Oil prices hit $52 per barrel
Meanwhile, world oil prices pushed further into uncharted territory yesterday, climbing towards 52 dollars on worries about supply problems in the Gulf of Mexico and low oil inventories. The price of light sweet crude for delivery in November rose 39 cents to 51.48 dollars a barrel in pre-opening electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest in the contract’s 21-year history. In London Brent North Sea crude oil for November delivery gained 42 cents to 47.55 dollars a barrel, also a new all-time summit.
“There is a grim realisation that there is a chronic shortage of light sweet crude in the world,” said Invested Securities analyst, Bruce Evers.
“Real panic is setting in, and the hurricane-related bad weather is still causing a backlog in US imports, so this afternoon’s results will be interesting to say the least,” Evers said, referring to weekly estimates of US commercial crude oil inventories and imports.
Almost 27 per cent of the Gulf of Mexico’s 1.7 million barrels of daily oil production remains disrupted, according to the US Department of the Interior. More than 15 million barrels of output has so far been affected, equal to around 2.5 percent of the Gulf of Mexico’s annual oil production.
“There has been a significant impact on the stocks which is not recoverable since the refineries, which are operating at full capacity, cannot make up for lost time,” said Societe Generale analyst Frederic Lasserre in Paris. “The return to full capacity of the refineries is proving slower than expected. Some refiners are having real trouble getting up to full speed. There are problems with electricity supplies and technical worries,” he added.
Invested’s Evers said dealers would focus on distillate/winter heating fuel inventories in the US Department of Energy report, for which stock levels are already low.
He said the recent unrest and disruptions in Nigeria would add to the squeeze in US distillate stockpiles, as the United States typically sources light sweet crude for refining from Nigeria. “The delayed imports will also compound the distillate stock problem,” as crude stocks will not have reached refineries, Evers added.
Senate moves to avert strike
The Senate yesterday stepped in to avert next week’s proposed strike action with meetings with organized labour and institutions in the petroleum downstream sector.
Deputy Senate President, Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu, who kicked off the negotiations, while asserting that there was no justification for the increases in a commodity that God had made abundant in the country, warned that the country must institute a practical policy for the petroleum sector that should ease the pain of the citizenry.
He told labour leaders including Nigeria Labour Congress President, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, that it was regrettable that the deregulation of petroleum product supply had not made the commodity affordable to the citizenry in the same way that the deregulation of the telecommunication sector had brought swift communication to the citizenry.
He, however, deposed that the conducive pricing regime and incentives would have to be given before private investors would be able to come in to enable free flow of petroleum products.
Before the session opened, the Senate had in plenary session resolved to deliberate on the recent hike in petroleum product prices. Senator Kanti Bello (ANPP, Katsina) had in a motion vide orders 42 and 52 of the Senate rules urged the Senate consideration on the issue on the basis of the alleged agitation in the polity on the issue.
His motion seconded by Senator Mamman Ali (ANPP, Yobe) was unanimously endorsed.
