By Yinka Ezun
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) have cautioned the Federal Government against aggravating the suffering of Nigerians further, through the proposed subsidy removal.
The two bodies in separate statement released on Sunday said the proposed subsidy removal would lead to hike in the price of fuel and this would have a ripple effect on prices of goods and services
PFN through its National President Bishop Francis Wale Oke warned that the implementation of such policy would increase the hardship currently being experienced by the people of the country.
He lamented that prices of consumables and other items were increasingly becoming out of reach of the people, noting that if the proposed subsidy removal is effected, it would heighten the hardship of the people of the nation.
The statement read, “Everybody will feel it, particularly the less privileged. The negative effects will surely outweigh the positive.
”The cost of transportation for human and goods across the country, will skyrocket and other things connected which will have a spiral effect on general living standard of the populace; the suffering will be multi-dimensional. Please let all stakeholders be sensitive to this avoidable path and do the needful.”
Bishop Oke further said the situation has become worrisome due to the reduction in the purchasing power of Nigerians caused by the continuous fall in the value of the nation’s currency at the exchange market.
The PFN President, therefore, admonished the government to do all it could to revive the four ailing refineries in the country, with a view to ensuring they operate at optimal level for a lasting benefit to the country and its people.
“By whatever means, let the Federal Government put its heart into ensuring that our refineries are back to life. In addition,in order to stem the rising cost of living, farmers and others connected to them should be encouraged. This is what can help our economy”, the cleric stressed.
While maintaining that the çhristian body would always support policies that would enhance good governance, he charged the government to this effect, to put in place tangible palliative measures that could ameliorate the hardship being experienced.
He said, “Without begging the issue,there should be well defined palliative measures in place that can cushion the effect of the hardship being experienced by Nigerians, especially the commoners. One is not talking about political palliatives that never last. We have seen enough of such.
“An increase in the price of petroleum from its present N165 to N340 per litre, can trigger tension and crises in the country which in turn can paralyse our economy if not handled with utmost care.
“Again, the planned introduction of N5,000 for 40 million poor Nigerians, is to create a cesspool of corruption. How do you define ‘the poor? They, mostly,don’t use telephones. They, mostly, don’t have bank accounts. How will the money get to them?”
Oke advised the government to be wary of policies that could jeopardize the conduct of the 2023 general elections, insisting that all hands must be geared towards steering the wheel of the country to a safety berth.
As a panacea to the rising cost of food items, the PFN President advised that farmers and relevant stakeholders should be empowered with relevant tools and funds through loans with little interest.
Oke, who is also the presiding Bishop of The Sword of the Spirit Ministries, implored the government not to relent in its efforts at ensuring that security challenges in the country become a thing of the past.
On its part, CNPP in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, said it was prepared to lead the anti-subsidy struggle when Nigerians are ready to take their future into their hands
The body knocked the leaders of the Nigerian labour unions, including the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), accusing them of “representing their personal interests and not that of their members.”
The body also accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the federal government of being deceitful in implementing the subsidy regime, saying that “what the federal government wants to do is fuel price increment, not subsidy removal.”
The CNPP noted that “it is disheartening that the Nigerian labour unions have joined the All Progressives Congress led federal government in its deceitful and manipulative tendencies since the APC government came to power.
“Before they won the election in 2015, the APC made Nigerians to believe that fuel subsidy does not exist, tagging it a scam. But immediately after they won the election, the APC led federal government swiftly increased the pump price of petrol.
“The former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Ibe Kachikwu in December 2015 revealed that the federal government has concluded plans to remove the subsidy on fuel by 2016.
“By May 2016, the Federal Government announced that it had removed fuel subsidy and petrol was to sell for N145 per litre. In fact, NNPC made Nigerians believe that marketers were free to bring in fuel cargoes and sell, subject to meeting standard quality control.
“But in the deceitful character of the federal government, the NNPC then insisted on a benchmark of N145 per litre as a recommended pump price. Do you remove subsidies and dictate or suggest prices at the same time if you are sincere?
“The CNPP at the time queried the rationale behind removing the subsidy and at the same time interfering in pump price by fixing a benchmark of N145 per litre of petrol.
“While highlighting the contents of a briefing after a meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in 2016, Kachikwu said: “We have just finished a meeting with various stakeholders presided over by His Excellency, the Vice President. The meeting had in attendance the leadership of the Senate, House of Representatives, Governors Forum, and Labour Unions (NLC, TUC, NUPENG, and PENGASSAN)”, the then minister told Nigerians.
“But at a point, the federal government made a U-turn on the fuel subsidy removal when, contrary to viral media reports in 2016 that the federal government has ended fuel subsidy, Vice President Yemi Osinabjo said it was not true, explaining that what the government did was to withdraw the monopoly enjoyed by the NNPC to allow free market sales.
“The free market sales and importation of petrol by the independent marketers never happened because the federal government simply deceived Nigerians that subsidy was removed. Nigerians endured but till date, there has not been any meaningful improvement in the lives of the poor.
“This cycle of deceit has continued till date as the federal government has hinted on yet another fuel price increment which it has again tagged fuel subsidy removal. How many times will the government remove fuel subsidies?
“The same labour unions leaders who were part of the earlier negotiations are the same ones negotiating with the federal government today in another cycle of personal enrichment while Nigerians are to pay N340 per litre of petrol and at a time cooking gas is already out of the reach of the ordinary citizens.
“It is laughable that the only palliative from the federal government is N5, 000.00 naira to a few Nigerians, which government officials will eventually siphon into private pockets like the COVID-19 conditional cash transfer.
“With the level of infrastructure decay in the country, where all federal roads are not motorable, the federal government is talking about cash transfer because it is the new safe way to siphon our commonwealth.
“The CNPP is ready to lead Nigerians anytime they want to end this series of subsidy removal deceit by the federal government in connivance with labour leaders in the country”, the CNPP concluded.
