Fuel Importation: Assist Us With Emergency Palliatives, Oil Marketers Beg FG

The Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA) has warned that unless the federal government provides emergency palliative measures to oil marketers for three months to enable them import fuel, the country would not face an energy crisis by January 2024. In a communiqué he read at the National Executive Council Meeting of NOGASA Thursday in Abuja, its National President, Bennet Korie, added that the situation may force many marketers to close shop. According to the Union, it will go a long way in cushioning the harsh effect of the high cost of importation and equally bring about reasonable reliefs to the business and cost of living generally. While expressing worries that the removal of fuel subsidy and the volatility of the FX market were taking its toll on oil marketers inability to access forex, Korie said there were increasing losses of lives, businesses and jobs with the accentuation by mass shut down of filling stations and packing up of petroleum tankers, all due to unattainable high cost of importation, lifting, transportation and distribution of petroleum products. “Similarly, Depot Owners are so terribly affected by the increasing cost of the crude and exchange rate to the extent that many Depots are practically deserted as their owners are unable to secure Bank loans to fund their business due to high interest rates. Banks are not willing to guarantee funds release to stakeholders as a result of the difficulty, instability and galloping rates of foreign exchange and high cost of the Dollar. Many Depots are presently dried up or out of stock, and this is no gainsaying as it is evidently verifiable. He insisted that owners of filling stations find it extremely difficult to secure funds to procure products for their retail outlets as both the Independent and Major Marketers were terribly affected adding that filling stations were shutting down because of their inability to secure funds to facilitate orders for their stations. The NOGASA President urged the federal government on the maintenance of roads across the country in order to make distribution of petroleum products seamless. Therefore road networks and maintenance need to be positively impactful as it will also create thousands of jobs for jobless youths and other restive people in our communities. He said the dollarization of the economy was severely harming the country as businesses are dying and the system is not helping us at all. He insisted that urgent action is highly required to save our industry from total collapse.

NLC begins 2-day strike, insists N5bn palliative not enough

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has initiated a two-day warning strike to protest the Federal Government’s handling of the challenges resulting from the removal of fuel subsidies. This move follows NLC President Joe Ajaero’s announcement last Friday. In his inaugural speech on May 29, President Bola Tinubu declared the end of fuel subsidies, triggering a significant surge in fuel prices nationwide and an increase in the cost of living. The NLC accuses the Federal Government of abandoning negotiations and failing to implement resolutions from previous meetings. On August 2, the organized labour staged protests against what they deemed “anti-people policies” by President Bola Tinubu’s administration. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and affiliated unions demonstrated in several states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), demanding the reversal of anti-poor policies, the release of withheld university lecturers’ and workers’ salaries, and an increase in the minimum wage from N30,000 to N200,000. Despite numerous meetings between the Presidency and the unions regarding palliatives for Nigerians affected by the petrol subsidy removal, no agreement was reached. Last month, NLC President Joe Ajaero argued that the N5 billion allocated to each state and the FCT to mitigate the impact of the subsidy removal was grossly insufficient to alleviate the suffering of the people. Ajaero explained that when calculated, the N5 billion would amount to less than N1,500 per person, raising questions about whether the funds were intended as loans or palliatives to the states or citizens. “The first increase in the pump price of petroleum products and the last one moved a lot of people from the borderline to a very high level of poverty,” he said. “Now, if you calculate it, you will discover that this will not translate to N1,500 per person and you ask: is that the impact? Is that really what we want to achieve? Let’s assume it’s a loan. What is really going to happen? Is it garbage in, garbage out? “If it is N5 billion, I think organised labour would want anybody to do the calculation and tell us how it is going to impact Nigerians on what is happening currently. If it is a loan, then it is too bad,” Ajaero argued. He highlighted the profound impact of recent fuel price increases on poverty levels, emphasizing that the proposed financial relief appeared inadequate. Organized labour has continued to call for transparency concerning the N5 billion allocated whilst questioning its effectiveness in addressing the ongoing economic challenges triggered by the subsidy removal.