BY DANIEL IDONOR
KEY players in the Organised Private Sector, OPS, yesterday rose from a two-day Presidential Retreat with the National Economic Management Team, NEMT, dismissing the current subsidy on Petroleum Products by the Federal Government as “inefficient, corrupt and a waste of scarce national resources”.

Consequently, they called for full deregulation of the downstream sector, but hastened to call on the federal government to engage stakeholders on the benefits of oil subsidy removal to the poor and the underprivileged.

President Goodluck Jonathan and Coordinating Minister of the economy led the government team while the President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, and a former Minister of Industry, Mr Joseph Jamodu, led the OPS to the event.

In a communique at the end of the event which held in the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, and read by the President of the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria, NPAN, Mr Nduka Obaigbena, the OPS concluded “that the current regimes of subsidies in the pump price of petroleum product is inefficient, corrupt and a waste of scarce national resources”.

According the five-point document which was signed by 42 of 45 participants, the retreat noted “that the majority of Nigerian citizens do not enjoy the benefit of the current subsidy of petroleum product today, rather the subsidy itself operate to the benefits of very few beneficiaries”.

It said further “that the financial burden of subsidy is unsustainable and untenable in our nation where critical infrastructure, human and capital development are in dear need of investment”.

The Participants said “we note from the retreat that the federal government of Nigeria has promised to consult widely with the labour organisation, civil societies and other stakeholders to ensure a high level of engagement on the deregulated regarding the benefit of a deregulated price regime, particularly the impact on the improved livelihood of Nigerians”.

The business men and women further added that “taking cognisance of the foregoing, we call on the federal government of Nigeria to ensure that the benefits of deregulation accrued to the generality of Nigerians in a manner that it benefit the poor and the underprivileged”.

The retreat which began thursday saw participants including President Jonathan and others breaking into group session which lasted till 8:30 pm, after the opening ceremony.

On the second and last day, Friday, President Jonathan was again on hand to preside over what many described as watershed in the history of Nigerian political economy; as his presence encouraged participants’ interest in the retreat which was earlier scheduled for the Obudu Ranch Resort, Cross River, but was later moved to Aso Rock.

Key participants included Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Mr Femi Otedola, Mr Jimoh Ibrahim, Mr Tony Elumelu, Mr Wale Tinubu, among others Mr Tinubu and Alhaji Dangote later bared their minds on the controversial fuel subsidy, but first to speak is Mr Tinubu:

”To be honest I think the issue of deregulation has been over flogged, this year alone we are heading for $10 billion, I think is already $8 billion till date on subsidising petrol. Two or three times the total value of health, education and other social amenities. At the end of the day you ask yourself another question, who consumes petrol? People who own cars and at most, may the okadas which is very limited. The bulk of petrol is the middle and upper class subsidy, is not subsidy for the most.

The largest scale public transportation is run on diesel which is already deregulated, so who is really benefiting from this money? Now imagine if you have $8 billion invested in education, roads and health, you will have a much better society.

The challenge really is that are we really sure the government will deploy this money one saved will be channelled to these areas? That really is the challenge.

So let’s focus on that challenge by asking the government to put an effective monitoring mechanism to ensure the money saved is spent appropriately. The monitoring mechanism may include the Civil Society, the labour, you and me, anybody at central level, state level to ensure this is properly channelled.

The labour issue is not whether or not we should deregulate but that money should be channelled back to the people who need it which is the masses of Nigeria”.

Alike Dangote speaks

”The subsidy does not benefit anybody. If the labour is really right in their demands  they should go and fight for diesel and low fuel oil because that is really what concerns the masses, the masses are always travelling by buses. Have you ever seen a rail mass travelling by air? No!

The aviation fuel has be deregulated for the past 11 years, diesel has been deregulated we are paying N160 or N140 per litre. For low fuel oil, we are paying from N25 to N90, and the same labour has not really come out to say to ask for subsidy which can even close down the factories in which the work.

What we are asking is why should government be giving N200 billion in terms of subsidy per month when we don’t have good roads and so many things. So let the government use the money to develop the country, provide power and other social amenities. With that we will be able to provide more jobs and a lot of them will not loose their jobs. Today can you really tell me you are buying at N65 per litre? Even if you are your cousin in the village is not buying at N65.

Are you saying you manufacturers will survive without subsidy?

But we are surviving now because we don’t have any subsidy. Let me repeat, we have not enjoyed subsidy in the last 10 years we have been paying market prices for diesel, low fuel oil and even natural gas and these are the three things that we use in terms of producing goods and services.

The one on petrol is for you and me to use our cars to go out to parties and do several other things which does really have in relation to work. And once you keep giving these things as subsidy, it means our neighbours will not import anything, you are draining our foreign exchange, we are giving our subsidy that nobody is benefiting from and this thing is really killing the future of your children.

The Labour  should understand, they know better because I can tell you for a fact that the same people who are there we held a meeting, the former president, the current NLC President, the TUC President and the former economic adviser, Tanimu and we agreed that the subsidy will now be removed from January 2008, that was the agreement. I think the mistake that happened was that the government of late Yar’Adua did not remove the subsidy when the prices were at N65, N70 per litre. When prices went to N34 per litre in 2009 that is when I believed government should have removed the subsidy.

But nevertheless right now, it does not make sense for government to be borrowing money to fund their own operations, it doesn’t happen anywhere. I trust this government to utilise the money. Have you ever seen where a president sits with the private sector for two days? That shows they are very serious”