CHAIRMAN, Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, has advised Nigerians to troop to the streets in protest if withdrawal of fuel subsidy does not improve their lives.
Speaking as a discussant at the 41st annual conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in Abuja, on Wednesday, Amaechi also stressed that Nigerians should “hold the president and the governors responsible, if they don’t deliver on their promises and come out to the streets.”
Governor Amaechi, who pleaded that Nigerians should support government’s decision to remove the subsidy to create room for openness and a pool of funds for massive investments in infrastructure, appealed to the Federal Government to come up with measurable palliative measures and the milestones to be achieved within given periods of time, failure of which ordinary Nigerians should take to the streets.
He lamented the alleged lack of transparency and arbitrariness in the nation’s oil industry and noted that only a complete reform of the sector would make things right.
Also, in his own submission, the Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, regretted that those benefiting from the ‘darkness’ and power sector poor performance had engaged in a sustained struggle to ensure the old order remained, adding that applying new tools, new policy instruments and new methods was the only sure means of convincing Nigerians that government was serious and ready to improve their lot.
According to him, “it is time for things to change drastically for the good of Nigeria. Those benefitting from our being in darkness must be stopped. There are many toes to be stepped on in order to move forward. But you don’t only need to step on toes, you have to even chop some of the toes off if things are to be done right.”
He also took a swipe at the alleged lack of transparency in the handling of the federation’s darkness, saying that Nigerians must be told how the figure of 1.4 trillion naira already spent on subsidy in the past nine months was got.
“The number is crazy, even if all Nigerians are drinking petrol the way we drink pure water. How many litres do we consume? Who is taking what? Let the Federal Government publish the names of the companies benefiting from it and the names of their directors,” Oshiomhole said.
For him, “kerosene is already deregulated. The government tells us that it is subsidising kerosene, but how many Nigerians buy kerosene at N50 per litre. Let us invite international auditors, because the local firms, I am afraid, might have been compromised, to audit the books of the NNPC and tell us who has been getting what. If this country must move forward, then we must have the courage to speak the truth.”
The former president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said it was unfortunate that Nigerians did not have necessary information on oil production and how much the country was earning daily.
On the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), Governor Oshiomhole said the states were not against savings, but that “the revenue sharing formula needed to be reviewed in favour of the two lower tiers of the government.”
In his speech, the ICAN president, Professor Francis Ojaide, said the theme of the conference, “The Dawn of Transformation: Embracing change and seizing opportunities,” was chosen to underscore the need for Nigerians to look beyond the current economic challenges, discern and take advantage of the opportunities embedded in the transformation agenda of the government.
Professor Ojaide, however, said given the enthusiasm with which Nigerians voted in the April 2011 general election, many might feel disappointed and, even, betrayed by the plethora of unfulfilled dreams, notwithstanding the fact that this government had only been in the saddle for a little over a 100 days.
On the way forward, the ICAN boss said “the journey to freedom from want and to economic prosperity cannot and should not be expected to be stress-free and smooth-sailing,” adding that “we must, therefore, embrace change, properly situate and effectively manage our expectations in the near term and confront, with great resolve, the enormous challenge of building a politically united nation.”
NLC, TUC want meeting with FG boycotted
Meanwhile, the NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC), on Wednesday, sounded a note of warning to all their affiliate unions and associations to boycott the purported planned meeting by the Federal Government with some unions and associations in Abuja today.
The labour centres also warned their affiliate unions and associations to be alert to any meeting with government in any disguise, stressing that from the information reaching them, the circulated meeting notice by the government to hold meeting with some affiliate unions and associations today was not made known to the leadership of the unions.
Speaking with journalists on the purported meeting slated for today by the government, the deputy NLC president, Joe Ajaero, said “since the motive of this Federal Government rally of unions is not clear, the NLC urges all its affiliates not to attend this event billed for Thursday, October 20.”
Also, the Secretary-General of TUC, Mr John Kolawole, said “we have warned our affiliate unions and associations to boycott the meeting and be alert of other syndicated meetings that may be planned to divide labour on some of the policies of government that are anti-Nigerians.”