Tension as confab delegates reject removal of fuel subsidy

THERE was tension on Tuesday as delegates at the ongoing national conference finally rejected a recommendation for a total removal of the fuel subsidy by the Federal Government.

The conference committee on public finance and revenue and revenue, chaired by Senator Adamu Aliero, had recommended a total removal of subsidy on petroleum products, arguing that this had been a major financial burden the nation has been made to bear.

The recommendation generated heated debate at the plenary and created sharp division among the delegates, who accused one another of vested interests.

However, when the recommendation was put to vote, delegates, in a voice vote, rejected total removal of the fuel subsidy.

This followed two motions on the withdrawal of existing subsidy on petroleum products sponsored by the president of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar and 34 others and the other one sponsored by Chief Dan Nwanyanwu and and 24 others, rejecting the recommendation of the committee.

The motions, which were joined by the leadership of the conference as adopted by the delegates, however, gave the Federal Government conditions for removal of the fuel subsidy in the next three years.

The prayers of the motion by Nwanyanwu are: “That the Federal Government shall, within a period of three years from the date, build new refineries and repair existing ones to full capacity utilisation.

“That private sector entrepreneurs who have already been granted licences to build new refineries shall, within a period of three years from date, build such new refineries, or automatically forfeit such licences, to enable other participants ready and willing to build such refineries with a period of three years, the opportunity to do so.

“That upon fulfillment of the preceding conditions, the Federal Government shall be free to remove any subsidy from petroleum products.”

The delegates unanimously adopted the motion, therefore bringing to an end the controversy generated by the committee recommendation for removal of the fuel subsidy.

Earlier during the plenary debate, a former secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae and former minister of State for Defence, Olusola Obada, in their contributions, had raised objection to the removal of the fuel subsidy until certain things were put in place to cushion the effect of the policy.