Oil marketers have urged President Bola Tinubu to learn from what his counterpart in Kenya, President Williams Ruto did over the lingering crisis generated as a result of the fuel subsidy removal.
The marketers called on the federal government to temporarily return subsidy on petrol for a couple of months.
They called Tinubu’s attention to the scenario where Ruto returned subsidy on fuel for two months after removing the subsidy that created so much hardship.
Speaking to The Punch, the Secretary of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Abuja-Suleja, Mohammed Shuaibu, said: “Let them not do the needful, they will see the consequences. We learned this morning that Kenya, which equally removed subsidy and noticed that its effect was so hard on the citizens, has again resumed the subsidy regime for the period of two months.
“Government is about the people and it must have a listening ear. For Nigeria, how can we be an oil producing nation with four refineries, and all of them are down? We now depend on imports.
“When he (Tinubu) announced that thing (subsidy removal), we said it was going to bring problems. Are we not feeling the consequences of that announcement now? It is forex that largely determines the cost of petroleum products here.
“Marketers are not willing to import products again, So if the government is going to relax the removal of subsidy for a while, it should better do that as a matter of urgency.
“Relaxing subsidy removal is going to be a very wise decision right now, because going by the price of the dollar, the cost of petrol is bound to rise. In fact, some oil marketers are ready to join the labour union to protest.”
Meanwhile, some dealers have entertained the fear that subsidy might gradually creep in again if the NNPCL continues to sell at N617/litre, particularly if the rise in the forex rate persists.
They explained that although the national oil company has announced it won’t increase pump prices of the product, prices would continue to go high with the current forex crisis, and if care is not taken, subsidy might gradually set in again.
The National Public Relations Officer, IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike, said the outright removal of subsidy is bound to cause severe hardship like it is.
He noted that “I’ve been saying this even before subsidy on petrol was removed. How can you stop subsidy without anything on ground as palliatives?
“Trips that used to be N5,000 in the past and now over N15,000. Businesses are shutting down. The suffering is rising. The government has to intervene now.”
Read also:
Tinubu Tells Traditional Rulers Why He Removed Fuel Subsidy (video)
Fuel Subsidy: Marketers Urge Tinubu to Learn from Kenya