A concerned Nigerian has shared on a popular online Nigerian forum the major differences between the removal of fuel subsidy under the present and past administration.
President Muhammadu Buhari and former President, Goodluck Jonathan
The current removal of fuel subsidy under President Muhammadu Buhari has forced business and political analysts in Nigeria to look back at the past which entail the fail removal of the subsidy under former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on the Ist of January, 2012 which almost threw Nigeria in turmoil and comotion.
Read the major highlights below as written by the concerned Nigerian:
Subsidy Removal under Goodluck Ebele Jonathan
Jonathan's government announced the total removal of subsidy on Jan 1 2012.
The facts:
1. Oil sold at 113 USD per barrel as at Dec 31st 2011
2. The exchange rate as at Dec 2011 was 1 USD to N 162.3
3. Jonathan's predecessor actually dropped PMS price from N75 to N65 and was able to sustain subsidy whilst handling the amnesty program for repentant millitants till his early demise.
4. A more bouyant foreign reserve and growing economy.
The government's major basis of total removal of subsidy was sighted as massive corruption. Rather than deal with the monster, the incompetence of the government was shifted to the masses. Many Nigerians were not ready to make the government have more money to loot, as subsidy was still sustainable at that time.
After the Occupy Nigieria protests, the price of PMS was revised to N97 per littre, with the promise of urban busses, building and rehabilitation of refineries e.t.c. It is interesting to note that the only partially successful programme after the subsidy removal was SURE-P because some Nigeirans benefitted from it without the "u must know someone" clause. Till the exit of Jonathan's government, we had no functional refineries, neither were new ones built.
Please note, Boko Haram was more like rag tag millitant as at the time of subsidy removal but later grew to a sophisticated, machine guns, tanks rolling millitant. So BH as an excuse is not tenable.
Subsidy removal under President Muhammadu Buhari
1. Oil price selling below 44 USD per barrel
2. Exchange rate of N197-N199 to a dollar and N320 to a dollar in the parallel market.
3. An ailing economy, with limited FOREX, and dwindling reserves.
The major reason for the total removal of subsidy by the current government is because of scarcity of Forex and an ailing economy. NNPC could not sustain solely importing petroleum products, and there is not enough Forex to give major oil marketers to handle the importation of petroleum products. It should also be noted that the present government have been able to tackle corruption to a fault in the oil industry.
The oil Marketters have now been given the liberty to source forex from other sources to import fuel which is the major reason for the high price hike.
The current government have made moves which will see the price of PMS drop in the nearest future. For the first time in years we have the Warri, Kaduna, and Port Harcourt refineries working together but some misguided youths and miscreants in the name of avengers have decided to keep sabotaging the efforts of the present government.
There are also moves on ground to build more refineries.
In my opinion, the deregulation of the lower stream sector is right on track at this time and I stand with Buhari on this.
For now, I see no reason why this government should not be supported, as they still have more than 2 years to deliver. Should the government not meet up to expectations before next elections, then Nigerians can take their anger to the polls.
God Bless Nigeria.
Piece written by Koboko.