NECA lauds FG on fuel subsidy, urges sale of refineries

Federal Government’s resolve to end the fuel subsidy regime has been commended by the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA). The association believes this will also end decades of corruption associated with the subsidy policy.

Olusegun Oshinowo, director-general of NECA in a statement at the weekend, said although the government explained that the new dispensation would be predicated on what it called “price modulation,” “we that hope that at no time in the future will the issue of fuel subsidy and its financing resurface in government’s budget.”

Commenting further on the development, the employers’ body advised the government to now focus on the policy framework and incentives that would ensure that Nigeria was self-sufficient in the refining capacity to meet her energy need.

To achieve this, it said the Federal Government needed to be decisive on a number of action plans among which were unambiguous and explicit policy direction such as the privatisation of the four refineries.

Others are a jointly agreed timeline and modalities with investors on the utilisation of the licences already issued for the setting-up of private sector-owned refineries, and redefinition of the role of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), as an ombudsman to ensure compliance with products standards and fair competition that would guarantee reasonableness of products pricing.

Oshinowo, in the statement, urged the government not to delay any further in pursuing these actions, which he said were in the best interest of the economy.

JOSHUA BASSEY