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We’re Still Negotiating with Labour on Fuel Subsidy Removal  – FG

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By Joseph Amah, Abuja

The Federal Government says it is still in negotiations with the organised labour as regards the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly called petrol. Officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) stated that the removal of subsidy on petrol had been an explosive issue.

This, they said had made the government engage in negotiations with the organised labour on the matter despite the persistent rise in the amount being spent on subsidy amidst the recent increase in global crude oil prices.

 The World Bank had already projected that Nigeria would spend about N4tn on petrol subsidy in 2022, as oil marketers also stated that the amount could rise to N6tn going by the rise in the price of crude oil.

The NNPC being the sole importer of petrol into Nigeria for about four years has been shouldering the subsidy burden over the years, although it often describes this as under-recovery. When asked on Sunday if the company would be able to sustain the mounting petrol subsidy cost, the Spokesperson of NNPC, Garba-Deen Muhammad, when asked  if the company would be able to sustain the mounting petrol subsidy cost, he simply said that subsidy was now a policy issue.

According to him, “NNPC is an operator in the market. The subsidy is a Federal Government decision and that of the regulator. You should ask the downstream regulator because it is a policy matter.” Probed further to speak on the issue since the NNPC has been the sole importer of petrol into Nigeria for years, Muhammad replied, “The best person to provide an answer to your question is the regulator. “The NNPC is a player and operator in the system. Whatever is the policy today, we will comply, that’s all!”

Our correspondent then called the spokesperson of the NMDPRA, Kimchi Apollo, who stated that the government was still in negotiations with the organised labour on the matter. He said, “Everyone who has followed the subsidy question knows that negotiations are ongoing with the organised labour and other stakeholders with regards to subsidy removal. “I don’t think anyone should expect the authority to give you a definite answer to this. It’s not a topic for discussion by any government agency knowing how explosive it could be.”

The government has been in negotiations with the organised labour on the removal of petrol subsidy for over a year, as labour had demanded that Nigeria’s refineries should be fixed before subsidy would be removed, among other demands. However, operators in the oil sector as well as international financial agencies, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, had continued to call for a halt in petrol subsidy considering the humongous amount spent annually subsidising petrol. 

The President, Petroleum Products Retail Outlets owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, for instance, stated that subsidy could rise to N6tn this year, and stressed the full deregulation of the downstream oil sector was the solution to the subsidy. He said, “We’ve been saying this forever that we should deregulate and allow market forces to determine the price of PMS at the pumps. This subsidy we are paying, at the end of the day may not be the best for this country. “Today the government is proposing N3tn for subsidy this year, but at the end of the day it might rise up to N5tn or N6tn going by the rise in crude oil price.”

Also, the Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Clement Isong, had stated that subsidy might hit N6tn in 2022 if the current factors causing the rise in global crude oil prices to persist. He said, “It (the projected N4tn) might be even higher. It is a function of how our exchange rate goes. It is a function of how the price of oil goes. We don’t anticipate that what is happening between Russia and Ukraine will last for too long.“Hopefully if does not, the international prices of crude oil will come down and the availability of the product will go up, that is supply will improve. So hopefully the price of the finished product will come down.”

Isong added, “If we are lucky and if things are on our side, then it (subsidy) might be less. But if things are not on our side, if you do the current calculation as of today, based on all the numbers today, if things do not improve, it can easily reach N6tn.”

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Board Sanctions 118 Immigration, Civil Defence Officers

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The Board of NSCDC, Fire Service, Correctional, and Immigration Service, has approved the sanction of 118 personnel for various offences.

The Board Chairman, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made this known at the end of their meeting on Thursday in Abuja.

Tunji-Ojo, who is also the Minister of Interior, told newsmen through the board Secretary, Alhaji Ahmed Ja’afaru, that the erring officers were punished after facing disciplinary panels  for various offences.

“These offences range from misconduct, negligence of duty and outright absence from duty posts.

“In the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCOs), there were 48 cases of offences, in the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), there were 21 cases.

“Also, in the Federal Fire Service (FFS) there were 12 cases while in the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), there were 37 cases,“the minister said.

Tunji-Ojo added that the board has reviewed and approved new guidelines for appointments, promotions, discipline and general purpose in the services.

He said that the board also considered and approved the timeline for the conduct of the 2024 promotion exercise in the four services.

“The board considered and approved the review timeline for the conduct of the 2023/2024 fire service recruitment.

“As for the ongoing recruitment in the fire service, we hope to publish the names of the successful applicants latest by June 15. That is where we are for now.

“We also want to use this medium to warn the general public to ignore whatever they have been seeing or hearing in the social media space as they did not emanate from the board.

“This is because, we have come to realise that the social media world had been awashed with fake news telling applicants to come for screening exercise or pay certain amount of money.

“Let me put it emphatically that the board is not asking anyone to pay money for recruitment.“

He urged applicants to be patient, saying successful candidates will be notified to come for further screening through their emails and mobile lines. (NAN)

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NSCDC Inaugurates Female Strike Force to Secure FCT Schools

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The FCT Commandant of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Mr Olusola Odumosu, has inaugurated the corps Female Strike Force to protect schools in the territory.

A statement by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Samuel Idoko, on Thursday in Abuja, said the inauguration followed the completion of a three day training for the personnel.

Odumosu said that the primary responsibility of the strike force was to ensure the safety of all schools in the territory.

He said that the training had equipped them with the needed skills and capabilities to carry out their duties.

According to him, the training is a follow up to the recent meeting of all FSF Unit Commanders with the Commandant General, Ahmed Audi.

Audi had charged them to be up and doing in view of the reported cases of kidnapping in some parts of the country.

“The training is imperative to ensure compliance with the CG’s directive on the mandate of securing schools for the safety of students and staff.

“Cases of abduction in schools must come to an end, that is the primary purpose of this training.

“We need to restore the confidence of the people in our ability to secure schools in the FCT,” the commandant said.

He therefore called on schools in the FCT to register with the National Safe School Response Coordination Centre, so that they could be added to the ecosystem.

Odumosu explained that the registration was free and meant to ensure better coordination and make responses to emergencies more quicker and efficient.

Odumosu assured that the training and retraining of the personnel would be held regularly to ensure prompt response to any security threat.

“We must make schools safe haven once again for children,” he added.

He charged the female strike force to conduct routine patrol and surveillance of schools to prevent threats and attacks.

He also enjoined the strike force to hold periodic security awareness and enlightenment talks for student and teachers.

Odumosu also directed the operatives to abide by the corps’ Standard Operational Procedure in discharging their duties and avoid over zealousness in the use of force or fire arms.(NAN)

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Tinubu Appoints Bello as new Chairman of CCB

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President Bola Tinubu has appointed Dr Abdullahi Usman Bello as the new Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), pending confirmation by the Nigerian Senate.

This is contained in a statement by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, on Thursday in Abuja.

Ngelale said that Bello was a consummate professional with more than 25 years of work experience in consulting, banking, law enforcement, financial services and academia.

He said that the President anticipated the new Chairman would lead the Bureau with utmost integrity toward the realization of its mandate of maintaining high standards of public morality in the conduct of government business.

Ngelale said Tinubu expected the new appointee to ensure that the actions and behaviour of public officers conform to the highest standards of morality and accountability.(NAN)

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