By Daramola Babalola
On the 12th of May, 2016 Nigerians woke up to the detestable reality that they will now have to pay ₦145 per litre for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol representing over 40% increase from the previous pump price, ₦86.50
While some are mobilizing for '#occupyNigeria season 2', labour unions in the country are currently planning to commence an indefinite nationwide strike action that will 'shutdown the economy' on Wednesday in a bid to protest the increase in fuel price.
Following the harsh economic realities Nigeria is currently facing, many Nigerians have labelled the Federal Government as being insensitive to the plight of its citizen by making fuel too expensive for consumption.
But really, how expensive is fuel in Nigeria, compared to other countries? and is the Nigerian government really insensitive? We are about to find out.
- At ₦145/Litre, is fuel too expensive in Nigeria?
In Nigeria, fuel now costs ₦145/L and with the current exchange rate that is fluctuating between ₦320-₦360 to a dollar, it means we are paying about $0.44/L
It may however interest you to know that in United States, fuel is sold at the pump price of $0.65/L ( ₦214/L), In South Africa $0.84/L (₦277), In Russia $0.55/L (₦181/L), $0.91/L (₦300/L) in Canada, $0.92 (₦303/L) in Ghana, and it costs $0.93 (₦306/L) in China.
Some will argue that the countries above are not petroleum exporting countries (OPEC) like Nigeria, but what about OPEC member countries like Angola, where PMS is sold at $1/L (about ₦330), In Iraq at $0.64/L (₦211), In Venezuela pump price is $0.60/L (₦198/L) with President Nicolas Maduro calling the approximately ₦198/L pump price 'one of the cheapest in the world'.
Even in the oil rich, United Arab Emirates (UAE) PMS is sold at $0.45/L which is about (₦148/L) which is more expensive than the price in Nigeria.
According to Globalpetrolprices.com In Hong Kong, the pump price is set at $1.85/L (about ₦610/L) making the country the most expensive seller of gasoline in the world.
With the facts and figures above, at ₦145/L fuel is not expensive, it's actually one of the cheapest in the world, but because of the poor living conditions of millions of Nigerians, it appears expensive and thus, many Nigerians struggle to afford it.
That is why the government needs to provide welfare programs, kill that disease called corruption, invest in electricity, education, fix refineries, provide jobs and increase minimum wage to reduce poverty in the country, because the current ₦18,000 minimum wage is too small compared to how much we buy petrol.
- Is Nigeria the only country increasing pump price?
Again, the answer is a 'BIG NO'.The excruciating increase in pump price is not even limited to Nigeria alone, major oil rich countries of the world have increased their fuel price this year, some even by over 50%.
See examples below
Saudi Arabia 40% increase
In December 2015, Saudi Arabia increased fuel price in the country by 40%
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/12/saudi-arabia-hikes-petrol-prices-40-pump-151228154350415.html
Oil rich Saudi Arabia, last year announced a record $98bn budget deficit due to 'rock-bottom global petroleum prices'
Like Nigeria, Saudi Arabia suffered a sharp drop in revenues as oil prices have fallen more than 60 percent since mid-2014 to below $40 a barrel.
To address the situation, the Gulf kingdom increased fuel price by 40%
Venezuela increased fuel price in February, 2016
President Nicolas Maduro in February increased fuel price to $0.60 (₦198) as Venezuela's economy was pushed to the brink by the collapse in the oil price, which accounts for about 95% of the country's export revenues.
He said the price over 50% rise was "a necessary measure, a necessary action to balance things, I take responsibility for it."
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35600921?SThisFB
Fuel price increased in UAE in May, 2016
The oil rich, United Arab Emirates also increased pump price about 2 weeks ago.
Fuel is now sold at $0.45/L in UAE, which is about ₦148/L in Nigerian Naira, ₦3 more than the pump price in Nigeria today.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/business/energy/2016/04/28/Fuel-prices-in-the-UAE-will-increase-in-May.html
Qatar increased fuel price by 30% in January, 2016
The oil rich country that last increased petrol prices in 2011, also increased pump price in January, 2016 to $0.36 (₦118) which is the 5th cheapest pump price in the world.
http://dohanews.co/qatar-increases-petrol-prices-from-midnight-tonight/
50% increase in pump price in Bahrain in January, 2016
As a result of the unprecedented drop in global oil prices, which has seen the price of oil per barrel decline by over 60%.
The government in Bahrain followed the steps of fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries the country increased fuel price by 50% in January.
http://bna.bh/portal/en/news/705611
I could go on and on, to give more examples of oil rich countries like Nigeria that have increased pump price in 2016, Nigerians need to understand that this is not a Nigerian, Kachikwu, APC or PDP problem, this is a global problem we are dealing with affecting even the oil rich countries of the world.
To cushion the current challenges, the Federal Government must also sincerely provide social provisions for millions of poor Nigerians who will suffer from the fuel hike. Some of the oil rich countries listed above have increased fuel price this year, but due to the several welfare packages provided, the citizens can ease through this rough patch.
I am glad about the N500 billion social intervention programmes provided in the 2016 budget, which includes jobs, social safety allowance for the most vulnerable people, free schooling for students, soft loan to traders, investment in infrastructure etc. Hopefully Buhari's 'anti-corruption' centered government can channel the funds with 100% sincerity and accountability.
- But why did the fuel price have to increase?
For that barber down the street who relies on petrol most times to power his small generator to keep his business running, it will be difficult for him to understand how the fuel price increase will benefit him in the long run. Infact, he will most likely rant everyday about the hardship the government is causing him.
I'm sure many have wondered why a country like Nigeria, blessed with oil suffer for it? But unfortunately, Crude oil price is an internationally traded commodity , the prices are not set by the countries that produce it. Neither do oil producing countries get a discount in the international market for producing this product.
While many think the current increase in fuel price is about removal of fuel subsidy, this notion is totally wrong because it was brought about by the non-availability of foreign exchange to import petroleum products. infact, there is no provision for subsidy in the 2016 budget according to the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.
Oil is selling at below 40 dollars and the currency (dollar) needed to purchase the refined petrol is no longer available, that is just simply the problem here.
Oil and gas make up more than 90 percent of exports in Nigeria, providing the critical source of Nigeria’s foreign exchange.
It’s that simple; a collapse in oil prices could lead to the same in Nigeria’s foreign exchange which is crucial to support consumption of imports. Foreign exchange rates also influence capital flows- investment funds that move into and out of a country. If oil prices continue to drop it would have an adverse effect on the country’s currency value, making it less attractive to foreign investors.
Since our local consumption of fuel is almost entirely imported. The NNPC exchanges crude from its joint venture share to provide about 50% of local fuel consumption. The remaining 50% is imported by major and independent marketers.
However marketers have drastically reduced their importation for several months due to a scarcity of FOREX, thus the need for them to source independent of CBN to be able to meet the nation’s demand arose.
Now any Nigerian entity is free to import the product, subject to existing quality specifications and other guidelines issued by Regulatory Agencies.
All oil marketers will be allowed to import PMS on the basis of FOREX procured from secondary sources.
It is expected that this new policy will lead to improved supply and competition and eventually drive down pump prices.
In addition, this will also lead to increased product availability and encourage investments in refineries and other parts of the downstream sector.
- The difference between Jonathan's attempt to increase fuel price in 2012 and this? - And why the anti-₦145/L protests will fail
This took fuel price from ₦65 to ₦141 at filling stations. This led to massive protests by civil-rights groups, labour unions, and Nigerians generally. APC, the opposition party at that time, took political advantage of the situation by identifying with the suffering and criticizing the Jonathan administration for removing subsidy.
Four years later President Buhari officially removes fuel subsidy. Millions of Nigerians are angry. Nigerians are understandably accusing the present administration of cowardice, deception, and hypocrisy, but how true is this?
How much was oil price in 2011? Oil price was $113 per barrel. Today, oil price is just about $40 per barrel after going below $30 early this year.
And the exchange rate? Under Goodluck Jonathan’s leadership, the exchange rate was $1 to N162. Today, exchange rate is officially N199 to a dollar; N320-N360 in the parallel market.
And foreign reserves? Nigeria’s foreign reserves stood at $35billion in January 2012 and $29.61billion as at 28 May 2015, the eve of hand over to President Buhari. Today, foreign reserve is $27.1 billion, amid myriad of restrictive measures to stem the steady slide in the economy’s external sector.
Under the previous administration, Nigeria was enjoying an economic-growth rate of 6% averagely. Thanks to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) riding on the back of a devalued Naira. President Jonathan also, largely, had the right economic mix. But corruption and terrorism were two of its greatest challenges. There were allegations of massive corruption, particularly what was reported to be a fuel-subsidy scam right under Goodluck Jonathan’s nose.
Rather than tackle these allegations by investigating and prosecuting those involved in the scam, President Jonathan decided to remove subsidy as the solution to the problem. The administration claimed removing fuel subsidy would free up funds for capital projects. But Nigerians had little or no trust in the administration. The administration was incompetent and corrupt. How can it be trusted to save for the future? This was a fundamental issue. So #OccupyNigeria shot down Nigeria’s economy in January 2012, not simply because Goodluck Jonathan increased fuel price but mainly because millions of Nigerians did not trust the administration with the money it claimed it would “save” for the future.
Today there are strong reasons to believe that if fuel-subsidy removal had been allowed in 2012, most of it would have ended up in private bank accounts.
Under Buhari administration, though partly due to some of its own reactive and over-restrictive economic policies, the Nigerian economy is sick. There is scarcity of foreign exchange. Oil marketers are finding it extremely difficult to import petroleum products into the country. FDI has nose-dived. The low international-oil price meant there was no need for it.
Now that fuel price has increased internationally, we expected the government to subsidize to alleviate people’s suffering. The Buhari administration says ‘No. We don’t have enough foreign exchange to do so.” Oil marketers are having difficulties opening letters of credit to import petroleum products. The result is that NNPC alone has had to supply over 90% of petroleum products since October 2015. This has not always been so.
NNPC used to supply 48% of petroleum products. Since NNPC does not have what it takes to supply so much, there will continue to be fuel scarcity. To tackle the scarcity problem, the government painfully decides to free up the oil-supply system by allowing the international-oil price determine fuel price locally without any fiscal intervention. Oil marketers are now accessing foreign exchange (through secondary sources) to import petroleum products into the country since ₦145 naira per litre provides some reasonable profit margin after supply costs.
Meanwhile, the government is taking measures to block leakages through zero budgeting, Single Treasury Account (TSA), and its Anti-Corruption Agenda. We are now talking about refineries, public and private-owned refineries that will eventually make fuel scarcity a thing of the past.
Nigerians asked Jonathan to work on old refineries and build new ones, given the resources available at the time, and first kill the regime of fuel importation. Subsidy would have died a natural death and the process of privatization would have been smoother. Today, some of the refineries are functional again, which were not in Jonathan’s days. Government-owned outlets sell refined fuel today, at a far cheaper rate. Not the private ones.
As labour go all out on Wednesday to attempt to shutdown Nigeria, my prediction is that they will not even achieve up to 5% of what the 2012 #OccupyNigeria protests achieved, the protest is bound to be a massive failure, because more Nigerians trust the sincerity of Buhari's government unlike his predecessor. And while the ₦145/L price remains a hard pill to swallow, it's still the 12th cheapest price in the world, facts only.
Daramola Babalola is a political analyst and News Editor Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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This man called Daramola is fantastically unfaithful even to himself.All what he had said are another scam. I regret this change and one chance that we Nigerians deliberately entred.
ReplyDeleteDaramola wrote facts. Sai Buhariii
DeleteWith facts and Explicit comparison you are still wailing. Am not sure he actually read the article before displaying his ignorance
DeleteWith facts and Explicit comparison you are still wailing. Am not sure he actually read the article before displaying his ignorance
DeleteWhich fact??? Of all the countries listed how many countries use generator as a means of survival?business people can't produce anything without electricity, even SME's can't survive without generators. Our government should concern themselves first with providing us with basic amenities,then paying for these things won't be an issue.#nolight we run everything with generator.
DeleteWhich fact??? Of all the countries listed how many countries use generator as a means of survival?business people can't produce anything without electricity, even SME's can't survive without generators. Our government should concern themselves first with providing us with basic amenities,then paying for these things won't be an issue.#nolight we run everything with generator.
Delete@adejuwon have you checked before condemning what daramola wrote,go and check global petrol prices from the website provided and stop criticizing without fact,reasonable Nigerians are solidly behind buhari and his team and pray he will succeed by God's grace.
Deletefunny enough... politicians are not affected by these high prices as they get supplied with fuel in their generator plants as allowances, they don't que at filling stations to buy fuel, they don't even know when there's an electricity downtime except in the news, so what are we talking about?
DeleteSS is a Buharimaniac troll!
DeleteTroll? ... It takes one to know one.
DeleteIdiot Daramola! Fuel is now sold at #180-#185 in some filling stations at most villages in the East and Elsewhere . Can't Buhari and his not corrupt NA reduce their earnings and Use it to subsidize PMS?
ReplyDeleteMust the masses be the ones to suffer because they want to fix the problems they cause? Most Nigerians are corrupt, so how does sai Malu plan to tackle those selling PMS at #180-#185 now?
Fantastically corrupt politicians and fantastically confused Buhari- whose believed in a great Nigeria, yet all his children are schooling abroad. Ogun kill all of una.
MUMU Elmatosky. Which education level did you actually attain? While reading facts and figures you still comment nonsense.
DeleteElmatosky or what is that u call itself,''u are a compound fool,fatherless child''
DeleteNice read. Very informative. It's still painful sha.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteWell. The truth is bitter. The day Nigerians learn to pay cost reflective prices is the day we will be free from slavery. We want the perks of the developed countries but we we don't pay our taxes, bypass our electricity meters and buy one of the cheapest petrol in the world.
ReplyDeleteThank you my brother, and when one administration tries to correct all these they say they are wicked. Is it until Nigerians experience what happened in Greece that we will start to tighten our belt?
DeleteI think the problem is the lack of efficient public transport systems and poor electricity. Those countries the author is mentioning probably have stable power and it's citizens don't have to run generators.
ReplyDeleteThis man is one of the fantastically corrupt. Paid to write all these shit. APC has not left this media strategy that won them election. Unfortunately governance is about reality and so this will not work. This govt has demonstrated the highest level of deceit and cannot be compared with previous govt in terms of trust
ReplyDeleteÓdè ni è
DeleteThis is what Journalism should be about. Facts and figures.. Correct Investigative Journalism.
ReplyDeleteBut pls Oga Daramola, What is the Minimum wage in those other countries, and what is the public transportation system like. Also, do you have constant power cuts in those countries?
The Government has to do more to ensure its citizens dont suffer.
Ask google
DeleteWho ever you call your self or what ever price you think is the cheapest, what do a common Nigerian enjoys from his government?. The only thing we enjoy from our wicked government who has only them selves at heart is taken away from us and you said is the cheapest? Who is talking about other countries here? How is there power supply over there?. I thing your write up is a foolish write up. Do you know that at this time of no forex even the marketers will not be able to bring in PMS as they wish to. Why is the government price 145 I thought they said they are subsidizing at 12 to 13/L ? If you add up this amount to 87 I guess the remnant is subsidized into private pocket. All our politicians are corrupt including Mr president for bringing up this price that have excess of 45 naira.
ReplyDeleteDaramola, in a country where its ials are fantastically corrupt you expect the citizenry to let go of the little stuff they gain from the system? When officials double talk and might end up being more corrupt than previous govts? Where citizens generate power for itself. A country that is the highest producer of yam and the citize can't buy yam to eat? Pls, stop preaching to the choir. Govt hasn't done enough to ask its citizens to sacrifice. Are the politicians at Abuja sacrificing anything? Is the executive sacrificing anything? Let them start and then we can listen to all your numbers
ReplyDeleteSai Buhariii
DeleteSS the Buharimaniac troll!
DeleteEven in the hardship of the economy... Why do senators and other politicians still earn...high enough that if their assets and money were splited it would go a long way in the economy... What did they do with the money of the probed people? Mr Daramola,their salaries are too high to me..even be like say buhari Don silence you with 1 million naira.... I understand Shea.. Lol
ReplyDeleteAccording to u we are paying one of the cheapest price for fuel and u went further to ignorantly least countries that pays higher prices, forgeting that fuel price does not stand on its own, their are multiplying effect of it. We have no light, we need fuel; we have no road, we need fuel to move and travel. These other countries have every thing that wi cushion an increase in fuel price. Thanks for ur nonsence
ReplyDeleteThis Daramola fellow did you forget that these other oil rich nations have constant power. Or did you also forget that their minimum wage is nothing close to 18,000.why are their never palliatives before the government goes ahead to make decisions and policies that will affect the average Nigerians standard of living. Why?
ReplyDeleteFor those of you commending the write up. Can you do yourself a favour by calculating the percentage increase. The price was increased by 67% and not 40% according to the writer. Please, stop deceiving us. Again, what is the assumption for calculating the exchange rate. Readers pls do the calculation yourselves and stop depending on this fraud. God bless Nigeria
ReplyDeleteSai PMB!!!!
DeleteSai Buhariii
DeleteUr only comment on NE since u started reading is "say Buhari". Doest it mean u can't jux make a simple sentence?? Nawa oo
DeleteSS the Buharimaniac troll!
DeleteContractor G, it's Sai Buhariii, not *say*. Lol!!! I like to keep it succinct.
DeleteUseless analysis
ReplyDeleteUse the official exchange rate shhhhhh
Very informative but kindky inform us of the minimum wage of these mentioned countries.
ReplyDeleteDon't mind the joker, Daramola set out to do investigative journalism but became one sided. Am in Canada, you dare not mention these countries when you are talking about the sufferings of Nigerians. They are still promising to pay unemployed youths, just 1 million out of about 180 million Nigerians but in Canada, when I lost my job last year, for 9 months I received $1600 monthly as employment insurance till I got another job. if I don't want to buy their fuel at $0.91/L I will enter a bus that once I pay the first fare for the next 1 hour 30 mins I can enter any bus or train with the old ticket, but in Nigerian where is the transport to cushion the fuel case...Anonymous 6:49am, thank you for speaking up and saying the truth. He is just trying to dissuade Nigerians from standing to the saving of their pockets so as to please his master. Let the buhari that said that subsidy was a fraud in 2013 speak up again.
ReplyDeleteSai baba!!!
DeleteIs that the only thing your down syndrome brain can say?
DeleteSS the Buharimaniac troll!
DeleteInformative but please kindly throw more light on the minimum wage of these mentioned countries!
ReplyDeleteYou have really spoken my mind, there pump price could be higher than that of Nigeria but they compensate it with their high minimum wages, non of these countries have minimum wage below 200,000 naira to compare with Nigeria that pays 18,000 so the comparison is not balanced.with the current pump price in Nigeria our minimum wage should be about 150,000 to commensurate the inflation created by the fuel price.even the figures written in this is the official exchange rate. Unfortunately most people lack knowledge, you just heard Nigeria is still selling fuel cheaper than most countries and you just begin to congratulate buhari without checking other things that reflects to the price is these countries
DeleteHaba ! This article is one-sided, political and selective. There is no mention of the demand for petrol and the peculiar nature of the demand in each country. Power supply, population, infrastructure and standard of living play key roles in Nigeria's fuel demand and one cannot hike fuel prices without addressing the core issues (even a little bit). Especially in one of the BIGGEST oil exporters in the world. Let me also select (source: Wikipedia):
ReplyDeleteNigeria: $0.44
Saudi Arabia: $0.25
Libya: $0.11
Kuwait: $0.22
Iran: $0.33
Qatar: $0.37
Brunei: $0.30
Turkmenistan: $0.30
What are the masses getting from this country now? Nothing ! Bad roads, bad water, no power, no security, no health-care, generators everywhere, expensive petrol, poverty everywhere, poor sanitation, shoddy education, etc. We cannot compare with countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and the likes? They are templates for standard of living, wages, infrastructure, power, etc. Everything is on-point. Our clueless govt should swallow the bitter pill first and reduce their lavishness not suffer the masses. No cost cuts in the budget and you want me to swallow what?
This article is just biased and political judging from the mention of the previous administration. We have looked at our old excrement for too long abeg. Time to get up and move forward.
#OsinbajoArticle
@daramola do you know why labour attempt on Wednesday to shutdown Nigeria will not achieve up to 5% of what the 2012 #OccupyNigeria protests achieved, according to your prediction? Majority of Lagosians are APC and so have soiled their hands with Tinubu's money. You can't bite the fingers that feed you. 145/L is wickedness. Period. No light even with increased tariff, no alternative to moving around other than vehicles and 80% of the Nigeria youth are jobless.
ReplyDeleteAre these subjective assumptions the only reasons you can think of. Was it not the same Lagosians whose majority voted for Jonathan to rule in May 2011 that protested against the fuel price increase just 7 months later.How come people always have words of blackmail for all situations. When you criticize the govt they say it is bcos you are not given appointment or benefitting from it. When you do not criticize they say it is bcos you are in govt's party or you are benefitting from it.If that is your view, then let people protest in Rivers, Ekiti and other opposition states. What was achieved in 2012 was due to these same youths that you now say are jobless. How many of those youths have soiled their hands with the Tinubu's money (which you think is enough to keep them surviving that would now make them not to protest) as you said The reason is not because majority are APC or bcos they have soiled their hands with Tinubu's money. There are various other reasons for it. Some sincerely feel the increase may really be necessary and they feel they may have made a mistake in protesting against it in 2012. Some people have always believed deregulation is necessary (only they fail to realize that this is not deregulation going by govt information). Others do not agree with it but they are not sure the protest would be popular or whether it would achieve its purpose bcos even after the 2012 protests, they still went away with about N23 increase. And some of them would not forget that the protest was truncated with deployment of the military. The timing is also important: the govt has succeeded in putting people in a position of being between the devil and the deep blue sea. You cannot compare the situation in 2012 when Jonathan virtually came from the blues to increase the fuel price with a situation where the people have been subjected to months of pains and stress from fuel scarcity (probably the worst ever, compounded by the govt measures and corruption of diversion and hoarding: when did we ever have to load generators on vehicles with their tanks to be allowed to buy fuel and even in many cases met with refusal).So the resistance of some people have been broken and it has gotten to a stage where people were already 'happily buying the fuel at N180 and above. So they would prefer to be saved the stress from non availability than maintaining the old price and continuing with the stress.
DeleteThe reason why the proposed strike action by the NLC/TUC, must be supported is simple, the same action was carried out in 2012, now to have a balance score card, Nigerians especially those who were at the fore front,in 2012, must equally, be at the leading stage, otherwise, people will read meanings into it. In other for the strike not look one sided, or have a kind of regional,ethnic,or religious colouration, let's all support it with a sincerity of purpose, otherwise, we are going to sow another seed of discord in this country, may God save us and bless Nigeria.
ReplyDeleteSai Buhariiii
DeleteSS the Buharimaniac troll!
DeleteMr writer, why not use our "un-tampered" exchange rate of #199 to $1 to do the math and not the black market of #350 to $1, then place us on the map and use the result to modify this post or write another conflicting post... doing this, the veil covering your eyes will clear off. Nigerian leaders are corrupt, and you writing this post has been corrupted too. I wonder how much you're paid to do this, and pls publish this comment. "wink"
ReplyDeleteMr writer, why not use our "un-tampered" exchange rate of #199 to $1 to do the math and not the black market of #350 to $1, then place us on the map and use the result to modify this post or write another conflicting post... doing this, the veil covering your eyes will clear off. Nigerian leaders are corrupt, and you writing this post has been corrupted too. I wonder how much you're paid to do this, and pls publish this comment. "wink"
ReplyDeletefunny enough... politicians are not affected by these high prices as they get supplied with fuel in their generator plants as allowances, they don't que at filling stations to buy fuel, they don't even know when there's an electricity downtime except in the news, so what are we talking about?
ReplyDeleteThe reason why the proposed strike action by the NLC/TUC, must be supported is simple, the same action was carried out in 2012, now to have a balance score card, Nigerians especially those who were at the fore front,in 2012, must equally, be at the leading stage, otherwise, people will read meanings into it. In other for the strike not to look one sided, or have a kind of regional,ethnic,or religious colouration, let's all support it with a sincerity of purpose, otherwise, we are going to sow another seed of discord in this country, may God save us and bless Nigeria.
ReplyDeleteThe guy is quite selective in his write up. Why is he using 162 to compute jonathan era fuel and 320-360 for the Buhari era fuel. Official exchange rate is 199. That means we do not buy fuel for 44 cents but actually 70 cents!!! Lets stop deceiving ourselves in saying that Buhari is fighting corruption because nobody can ever bring corruption to a full standstill alone. You need Functional tracking system, police, court and prisons! that is the only way to curb corruption, BUHARI HAS NOT DONE ANY OF THESE.... He is only picking soft targets like opposition figures already hated by the masses. Let him do a detailed probe of APC campaign funding to let us test his resolve at anti corruption.
ReplyDeleteWhats the plan for refineries? Whats the plan to secure the pipelines, Whats the plan to ensure the ravenous cabals don't start another scheme at draining the masses after the 145 naira regime stops satisfying them, Whats the plan to tame the naira devaluation and get the manufacturing sector moving, whats the plan to start other sources of forex like cassava, coal, bitumen, professional services, NSE e.t.c.
All the likes of Daramola are the blind zombies cum economic half literates dragging this nation backwards, calling white black and using nonsensical & incoherent data pulled from variegated source to pull a wool over the eyes of those who are intellectually malleable!!!
Its really frustrating that we have to live with these lies, deception, half truths, ineptitude and cluelessness for the next 3 years... but God knows we shall speak loudly with our voters card come 2019.
True talk Joe, no mind some gullible zombies in this animal farm.
DeleteDo more research Mr Writer and accurately show us calculations with the official rate of dollar and not from the parallel market to see wehter your preposition will be valid. Again you failed to tell us the dependency ratio on PMS in those countries you mentioned. Pls also correctly give us information on the minimum wage in those countries as well. Please note that you cannot deceive informed people with this piece. I support the removal of subsidy but not through this junky deception. I only plead to Nigerians to accept it and that in due time things will normalize since we failed to achieve it in 2012. So please I will advice you to stop cooking up junky write ups and plead with the masses to accept the the economic reality. No amount of circumlocution can morally justify the removal of subsidy accept through pleading because it hampers the real deregulation of the oil sector.
ReplyDeleteMr writer...mr writer...you just goofed. Let us know what the countries you mentioned fx $ rate are and also what other things do they use PMS for. In Nigeria, every home generate power themselves. Is it so outside this country? GEJ's administration has come and gone and we keep pointing finger to him for his spoils. Let's talk about some of achievement a little too...do your findings dear writer and update us. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThis man should stop writing nonsense for christ seck, how many times those Countries use to have power failure and how much is their minimum wage, then check the welfare of the citizens in those Countries. Finally, those prices are black market price, however black market here is costler than those Countries you mentioned. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteDaramola's analysis to justify fuel increase is incomplete. Let him also carry out the analysis of electricity supply, transportation system, minimum wage etc, of those countries before justifying the increase.
ReplyDeleteActually, the problem is not in increasing fuel but what single thing of salubrious effect has Buhari done to justify this increase. Since he came he has increase electricity bills that he has not made available for Nigerians and now fuel pump price. Let us not talk about the prices of commodities that has increase astronomically, a bag of rice is now =N=16,000 that was =N=8,000 before he became president. One would have expected him to think of how to increase electricity supply.
Moreso, oil price in the international market is decreasing. Shouldn't this also mean a reduction of fuel pump price which he promised during his campaign. Fighting corruption, which everybody applaud is not the same thing as governance. Let this man do something to alleviate the suffering of the people before contemplating fuel increase. Mr Daramola, things are so difficult now. If you are in position to advice the president tell him the truth about the sufferings of Nigerians since he entered office.
It's so pathetic the way Politicians and Government appointees paint things just to convince people. Mr writer did not mention the social welfare those countries give to their citizens both young, old and unemployed. Then those countries do they encourage black market dollar exchange or the government controls it? If during GEJ crude was 113$ and fuel was to be sold for 141 without subsidy why wili it be sold now at 145 when crude oil is less than 40$? The APC government told us that GEJ supposed to sell fuel for 45# a litre even when he finally reduced the price from 97# to 87# a litre they still crucified him.
ReplyDeleteI wonder the way we reason in this our Nigeria. The little subsidy that GEJ removed were used for SUREPE and that program failed when Politicians started politicising it. Many states has SURPE projects built with the subsidy reinvestment program. Yet we are talking here that we opposed it because of the government was corrupt. Now the government that is not corrupt announced the removal of subsidy in January and fuel went as high as 250 in some area while the cheapest was 160 a litre. And petroleum minister said they were saving billions and the masses got hardship in return. Which subsidy are they removing now. Let's not be deceived they are only looking for money to run their government because of fall in crude oil prices at the detriment of me and you. GEJ never supported black market dollar exchange rate but this administration is supporting it just to favour their allies. How can a genuine government recognise black market?
This Daramola is a foolish coward. Why didn't he compare the minimum wage of Nigeria with the rest countries he used as sample. Yet fools believed him.
ReplyDeleteRestructuring is the solution to these problems.
ReplyDeleteThe govt should always carry the people along in decisions that affect their lives especially adversly
ReplyDeleteHypocrites that claim to love Nigeria. You are all self seeking and hateful. You do not see anything good in the previous administration which is why nothing good may eventually come out of yours.
ReplyDeleteI was getting disappointed wen I saw some senseless comments.now I know more pple love naija. APC s a heartless n wicked goverment full of greedy n desperately wicked pple.we where scammed. There's a saying "once bitten twice shy" let us stand up for naija and restore smiles to d unborn ones.let's join Nlc or else we will all die of starvation while their kids live large.we voted them n can bring them out.it begins with u
ReplyDeleteI love investigative journalism, i love it when people make use of facts and figures but i want to say that the writer of this article did not mean well for Nigerians. From the title of this post to the end of it, it was very obvious to even a blind man that the writer was biased, one sided and politically motivated. Fellow Nigerians must everything be politicized? why are we playing politics with the lives of people? Why are you still judging this administration based on the previous administration rather than by its campaign promises? Which country do you leave in? A country were students pay a premium for schools with gullible and congested curriculum, training and graduating students without skills that are relevant in the real world and finally abandoning them as unemployed youths? My thoughts:
ReplyDelete1.I support subsidy removal if and when the following conditions are met {fully functional refineries, secure pipelines, stable fx rate, diversification of the economy, sustainable and cost effective transport system, stable power supply, increase in wages, reduction in school fees, good healthcare plan, massive youth employment etc NOTE. these are basic social amenities that will cushion the effect of price increase and reduce dependency on oil. For God sake we where doing well before we discovered oil.}
2. If these amenities are not provided, the FG should subsidize oil up to 90% so that the price of oil(PMS) in Nigeria would be less than 5 naira per lite. If that is the only thing that the average Nigerian gets from the government at least we will have something to thank them for. There is enough money in this country to give us the best quality of life ever but a handfull of people are living in excesses at the expense of the general public. On the quality of life of those few, this move will not even reduce their excesses to even 1% and that is why they are lauding it now.. This is not the time to increase pump prices, this is the time to confront the problem facing the average Nigerian man... God Bless Nigeria!