NLC suspends protests to stave off political catastrophe for him
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Senate President Ahmad Lawan – one of several public officials manipulating the populace to remain in office – on Monday urged the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to shelve its planned protests over fuel subsidy as it is still being retained.
NLC President Ayuba Wabba was still spewing fire early Tuesday but capitulated later in the day announcing the suspension of nationwide protests billed for January 27 and February 2.
The decision was taken at a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, he said, based on the suspension of the removal of fuel subsidy for now by President Muhammadu Buhari.
NLC members mobilised would be demobilised, Wabba added.
His announcement headed off what would have been a political catastrophe for Buhari and his party in a general election season when his popularity is at the lowest ebb nationally because of his numerous failings, many of them deliberate.
Lawan had “[appealed] to the TUC [Trade Union Congress] and NLC to shelve this plan to go on strike or demonstration, it is totally unnecessary.
“There is not going to be a removal of subsidy, so there is no need for this. Please, let’s not create unnecessary tension where there should be none.”
This was after Buhari announced through Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed that removal of fuel subsidy has been suspended – clearly because of the looming election.
Subsidy is wasteful economically. It eats up funds that should be used to build infrastructure. It encourages smuggling of millions of litres of fuel to neighbouring countries daily for sale at higher price. And Nigerian runs a deficit budget.
So the argument against fuel subsidy is sound on paper. Provided money saved will be efficiently utilised for capital projects that will grow the economy.
But this is not how Buhari runs Nigeria – and is the reason for scepticism by Labour and other activists. Labour said it “observed a game plan and deceit” by the Buhari administration despite retaining fuel subsidy.
Petroleum Minister of State Timipre Sylva announced on Tuesday that subsidy will remain for only 18 months, contradicting claims by other officials that subsidy removal is suspended indefinitely.
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Cesspit of financial corruption under Buhari
Financial corruption is the number disease in Nigeria; it permeates all layers of society. Abuja has a history, deepened in these Buhari years, of officials getting away with fake or padded contracts and outright cash theft.
The fear of the NLC and of others in civil society is that (a) fuel subsidy removal will have a ripple price hike effect on all goods and services and (b) the money saved from such removal will be stolen by government officials.
Federal Auditor General Adolphus Aghughu has itemised in his reports for 2018 and 2019 several billions of naira missing, misappropriated, diverted, or stolen from nearly all Ministries, Departments, and Ministries (MDAs).
The National Assembly (NASS) responsible for oversight on the government is also involved in financial corruption, as stated in the recently released reports of the Auditor General’s office, an arm of government investigating other arms.
Revelations in the reports include:
- Federal Accountant General Ahmed Idris withdrew N1.695 trillion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) in the 2019 financial year without approval.
- Up to 42 MDAs indicted for overshooting their personnel budget to the tune of about ₦1,241,137,873,164.36 without approval by the NASS.
- Some N3.14 billion is missing in the Finance Ministry headed by Ahmed, who is Buhari’s tax enforcer.
- Up to N105.66 billion is missing, misappropriated or unaccounted for across 149 MDAs.
- Some 15 MDAs failed to account for N127.13 billion meant for the treasury.
- The Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) failed to recover and remit N40.126 billion, $921.636 million, and £289,931.82 to the treasury from various revenue sources in 2019.
- Some N4.14 billion is missing in the NASS, which is different from another N4.4 billion discovered “missing, misappropriated or stolen” in the NASS audited reports for 2015, 2017, and 2018.
- That makes a total N8.54 billion “missing, misappropriated or stolen” in the NASS in the four years between 2015 and 2018. The sum would be far higher if all stolen funds are discovered and added.
- Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Chairman Bolaji Owasanoye said MDAs duplicated 257 projects worth N20.138 billion in the 2021 budget. Such extra money is stolen.
Original Labour plan
Before the suspension of the protests NLC Assistant General Secretary Asuzu Echezona had confirmed that “we are continuing with preparation for the protests.”
Ogun NLC Chairman Emmanuel Bankole said: “The congress observed a game plan and deceit in the new development hence, there is no going back in the planned protest scheduled in the state against the plan by the federal government.
“We are aware (of the suspension of the fuel subsidy removal). We are going ahead with the Thursday protest. There is no going back.”
Other NLC chapters in states including Delta, Cross River, Ekiti, Ogun, and Lagos insisted that the rally would be held as planned.
Ekiti NLC Chairman Kolapo Olatunde said the protest would be total in the state.
Federal Capital Territory Police Command spokesperson Josephine Adeh, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, told The PUNCH that “they [the NLC] have written to inform us about the protests so our men would be on the ground to provide protection for them.
“They don’t need a permit to hold their protests but their letter was simply to inform us about the protests.”
Failure to maintain refineries
A letter NLC President Ayuba Wabba and General Secretary Emmanuel Ugboaja earlier wrote to Governors blamed Abuja for failing to manage the four oil refineries and not being able to build new ones, per reporting by The PUNCH.
“It is tragic and shameful that Nigeria is about the only OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Producing Countries) country that cannot refine her crude oil,” the letter said.
It urged Abuja to re-engage Labour in discussions to find “mutually acceptable solutions to the current quagmire in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sub-sector.”
And it insisted that “the federal government should announce the withdrawal of its plans to increase the pump price of petrol.
“There is no gainsaying the fact that the perennial increase of the pump price of petrol and other refined petroleum products by the government is actually a transfer of government failure and inability to effectively govern to the poor masses of our country.
“Central to this is the failure of the government to manage Nigeria’s four oil refineries and inability to build new ones. It is tragic and shameful that Nigeria is about the only OPEC country that cannot refine her own crude oil.”
Views on fuel subsidy were also expressed by academics, experts, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and others; reported below by The PUNCH.
Sheriffdeen Tella (economics professor, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State)
“We should not be talking about fuel subsidy. We should be talking about making the refineries work.
“If the government cannot make it work, they can commercialise it. Doing something to ensure our refineries are working is what is important.”
Sam Nzekwe (former Association of National Accountants of Nigeria President)
“The government should ensure that certain things are in place to reduce the adverse effects of poverty on Nigerians.”
Leo Ukpong (economics professor, University of Uyo)
“The issue of fuel subsidy is tricky but the government still needs to remove it. It makes no sense economically for the government to have crude oil but no efficient refineries.”
Muda Yusuf (former Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry Director General now Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise Chief Executive Officer)
“The odds are stacked against subsidy removal. There are worries about the social cost given the excruciating poverty in the country.
“There is also the waning goodwill required by the government to enlist the support of the people. But the economic cost of the capitulation is equally weighty.”
Olumide Akpata (NBA President)
“I hope you will not accuse me of being a conspiracy theorist. The subsidy issue is a hot potato for any government. Particularly in this part of the world, it is a hot potato,” Akpata said on Channels Television.
“I would have loved to think that the decision to suspend [subsidy removal] … is because the government cares so much about the people and it is a government that is listening to the cries of the people.
“Because, indeed, as the Minister of Finance [Ahmed] mentioned, it would be really tough if subsidy removal is implemented at this time, with all other circumstances.
“However, something tells me that this has more to do with what is in the offing – an election is coming up and the strategists would probably have sat down and thought about it.
“They have told themselves and told those they advise that it would be political hara-kiri, it would be suicidal at this point in time to take out subsidy, going into an election which is just around the corner.
“This is what I think the issue is because these kinds of hard decisions, these kinds of real tough decisions, I don’t think they are the kind of decisions that you want to take going into an election. Those are my thoughts; I may be wrong.”
