The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria have rejected plans to return fuel subsidy in Nigeria, arguing instead that the focus should be on reviving the country’s refineries .
IPMAN spokesperson Chinedu Ukadike and PETROAN National President Billy Gillis-Harry made their positions known in separate interviews with DAILY POST on Monday, reacting to the ongoing debate over fuel subsidy and calls by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for its reinstatement .
Ukadike said the major challenge facing the petroleum sector is not whether subsidy should be removed or restored, but the failure to fully revive critical infrastructure, including the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries .
“All these things are negative. The issue before this President is the restoration of all the refineries that are working in Nigeria. The restoration and revival of all the pipelines. The restoration and revival of the 21 depots in Nigeria,” Ukadike said .
“Whether we remove subsidy or not does not arise because competition will calm down the price volatility and reduce prices drastically. Not only will it drive competition, it will also reduce the dependency of exports on dollar exchange,” he added .
Ukadike advised Atiku to do “some homework and understand that it is not bringing back subsidy that is our problem. Get the refinery to work again” .
On his part, Gillis-Harry said those calling for the return of fuel subsidy do not love Nigeria, noting that the fuel subsidy policy under previous administrations amounted to a “loss of opportunity” for the country .
He stated that the Federal Government previously borrowed nearly N2 trillion to fund subsidy instead of investing the money in national development and human capital .
“The subsidy that we were operating under all the administrations was a stark loss of opportunity for the future of Nigeria. We were borrowing nearly N2 trillion to pay subsidy, not to develop Nigeria, not to develop human capacity, not to do anything, prior to the President’s arrival on the 29th of May, 2023,” he said .
Gillis-Harry maintained that President Bola Tinubu was right to announce the removal of subsidy on May 29, 2023, and argued that any attempt to restore it would undermine Nigeria’s interests .
“Now, subsidy removal was a subject of discussion by all the presidential candidates. So, if there is a reason why any one of them is thinking to say subsidy will be brought in the back, it shows that they don’t love Nigeria,” he said .
He also questioned how the government would finance a proposed reduction of petrol prices to N500 per litre, asking whether the government would resort to borrowing .
“Where is he going to get the money to reduce it to N500 per litre? So, he’s going to go back and go to China and get a loan of $1 billion,” he said .
The debate over fuel subsidy was reignited after Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, declared that he would restore the policy if elected president in 2027, proposing to subsidise fuel from crude oil production rather than refined petroleum product imports .
