NUPENG tells Tinubu, let Dangote Refinery hit market to reduce fuel price
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Bola Tinubu has been urged by the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) to allow products from Dangote Refinery get to the market in July before the removal of fuel subsidy he announced at his inaugural speech on Monday.
Both NUPENG President Williams Akporeha and General Secretary Afolabi Olawale counselled the President to understand citizens are at the moment grappling with helplessness, poverty, and hardship.
“Without any doubt, a major socio/economic policy on the front burner of national discourse and expectation is the recurrent discussion/debate for the removal of subsidy from the Petroleum Motor Spirit [petrol],” they said in a jointly-signed statement.
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“We are delighted that our concerns about the dependence on importation are being addressed by the recently commissioned Dangote Refinery, but we are quick to add that the administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu should not rush into taking any decision on the policy change until the products are in the market from the Dangote Refinery.”
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Full implementation of PIA
NUPENG also advocated for the full implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari, per Nairametrics.
It argued full implementation of PIA would ensure a petroleum industry that is accountable, rewarding, and transparent in financials and governance, and also responsive to the needs and yearnings of host communities and stakeholders.
“These desirable objectives can only be achieved with strict adherence in implementation to the spirit and letter of the Act. We therefore strongly plead with the President and his team to give a new narrative to wrong notions that Nigerian governments are no respecter of their laws.
“Let the Petroleum Industry Act, no matter any perceived shortcomings inherent, be implemented until any further amendments are made.
“As a responsible and responsive Trade Union in the Industry, we are very desirous of policy change on the issue of subsidy on PMS, but we are deeply concerned of the failure of successive administrations to do the needful as severally advised and canvassed for by organised labour to avoid unintended consequences on the people and the body polity.”
Fixing national refineries
NUPENG also asked Abuja to ensure the refineries in Warri, Kaduna, and Port Harcourt become fully functional, following their rehabilitation by the Muhammadu Buhari administration, so they can to generate returns on investment.
It reiterated that, if fully functional, the refineries will create jobs as part of efforts by the Tinubu administration to engage all stakeholders to improve lives.
Any major policy decision on the removal of subsidy should be taken with extra caution because of its enormous implications on overall economic activities and collateral effects on citizens, the statement added.