President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday hinted that full deregulation of the petroleum downstream sector, leading to total removal of fuel subsidy, was inevitable, stressing that such is the solution to incessant fuel scarcity in the country.
The President dropped the hint while receiving the report of the graduating participants of the Senior Executive Course 34, 2012 of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, near Jos, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President stated that if only people could bear the pain, total removal of fuel subsidy would make Nigerians happier.
He compared the transformation of a nation to surgery, which could be painful but would make the patient healthier at the end.
His words, “Why is it that people are not building refineries in Nigeria despite that it is a big business? It is because of the policy of subsidy. And that is why we want to get out of it.
“To change a nation is like surgery. If you have a young daughter of five years who has a boil at a very strategic part of the face, you either, as a parent, leave that boil because the young girl will cry or you take the girl to the surgeon.
“So you have the option of just robbing mentholatum on the face until the boil will bust and disfigure her face or you take that child to the surgeon.
“On the sighting of a scalpel of the surgeon alone, the child will start crying. But if she bears the pains and do the incision and treat it, after some days or week, the child will grow up to be a beautiful lady.
“There are certain decisions that government must take that may be painful at the beginning and people must be properly informed so that they will be ready to bear the pains," he said.
The President expressed the firm optimism about the possibility of the country achieving a turn around in fortune within 10 years with the right policy in place.
According to him, “I believe that you do not need a lifetime to change a nation. Under 10 years, Nigeria can change and people will not even believe that this is Nigeria again.
“Immediately you come up with strong policies in key sectors of the economy and keep it for 10 years, the change will be astronomical", he said.
While reacting to the comparison made by the graduands of the NIPSS between Canada and Nigeria on the issue of refineries, the President noted that Canada has sixteen functional refineries, while Nigeria has four that are struggling to refine at 30 per cent capacity of installed capacity because all the refineries in Canada are privately-owned.
His words, "Immediately you (the graduands) made that statement, I sent a note to my Chief Economic Adviser to tell me the ownership structure of the refineries in Canada. I wanted you tell us why they are working. He replied that all the refineries in Canada are private sector owned with strong public sector regulatory regime, and this is the key thing".
The President, while also commenting on the debts being owed by NIPSS, especially tax arrears totaling N105 million, pointed out that it is a criminal offence for any agency of government in the country to deduct employees’ taxes without remitting same to authorities.
His words, “It is a problem in this country, whether you are an agency of government, you must deduct tax if you fail to remit it, it is a criminal offence. We do not encourage departments of government to deduct tax and keep.”
The President assured that he would discuss with the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on how “we can pay the tax so that FIRS can be paid also”.
He also promised to direct the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqqayatu Rufa’i, to ask the Tertiary Education Trust Fund to give the NIPSS N50 million grant to offset part it's administrative costs.
The NIPSS graduands had, in their paper earlier, appealed to the President to intensify efforts aimed at tackling the spate of insecurity being witnessed in many parts of the country.
They described the precarious security situation as a disincentive to business.
The participants made the submission in their report titled “Resource diversification for sustainable economic development in Nigeria.”
They identified unemployment as one of the causes of insecurity and called on the government to address the situation.
“One of the greatest threats to security is unemployment. It provides for unemployed youths and other disgruntled persons to attack the system which they believe is responsible for their plights,” the report said.
In tackling the scourge, the NIPSS participants called on the government to strengthen trans-border security through bilateral agreements.
They returned an unpalatable verdict on the nation’s airports, saying they all lacked the capacity to counter terrorism.
The airports, according to them, are characterised with porous perimeter fences and lacked Closed Circuit Televisions.
“The nation’s aviation sector is not robust enough for diversification,” they maintained.
They also thumbed down the nation’s maritime sector which according to them “is over dependent on foreign carriers”.
The NIPSS graduates, who also tasked the media on the pertinent need for objectivity and responsibility in its reportage, called for regular trainings for media practitioners.
They reasoned that for the country to successfully diversify, government must strengthen its security apparatus.
The participants also decried the current situation where the nation is currently over-dependent on crude oil and natural gas, saying, “Nigeria needs to reduce its level of dependency on crude oil and expand development of its rich non-oil sectors. Human resources is key to diversification”.
While harping on the need for research and development with a view to improving the nation’s economy, the NIPSS graduates declared that good governance was critical to resource diversification.
In that regards, they urged the President to ensure that the terms and conditions of the Performance Contract Agreement he recently signed with his ministers are strictly enforced.
White Paper committee
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday set up three committees to prepare draft White Papers on the reports of the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force, led by Malam Nuhu Ribadu; the National Refineries Special Task Force; and the Governance and Controls Special Task Force.
A statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati said the committees were set up in furtherance of the President's declared commitment to doing all within his powers to ensure greater accountability, probity and transparency in Nigeria's oil and gas industry.
Said Abati, “The Committees are to study the reports, review the issues raised, and prepare draft White Papers for the consideration of the Federal Executive Council within two weeks.
“The White Paper Committee on the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force Report will be chaired by the Minister of Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu, with the Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, Minister of State, FCT, Oloye Jumoke Akinjide, and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs II: Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed as members.
“The White Paper Committee on the report of the Governance and Controls Special Task Force will be chaired by the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ms. Ama Pepple. Other members of the committee are Minister of State, Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada, Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, and Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mallam Bukar Tijani.
“The White Paper Committee on the report of the National Refineries Special Task Force has Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Mohammed Sada as Chairman, and Hon. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Minister of State for Health, Dr. Muhammad Pate and Minister of State for Education, Mr. Ezenwo Nyeson Wike as members.
“The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation will provide secretariat for the Committees.
Reps refer PIB
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives yesterday put on hold further debate on the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, and delegated an independent panel to x-ray the contents of the document.
Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal announced on the floor of the House, membership of the panel, to be headed by House Chief Whip, Ishiaka Bawa.
According to Tambuwal, Bawa is to be assisted by Samson Osagie, the House Minority Whip along with Chairmen and Deputies of about four standing Committees of the House which have relevance with the Bill.
The Committees include that of Petroleum (Upstream) Environment, Local Contents and Petroleum (Downstream).
He mandated the panel expected to operate in mode of a Public Hearing to consult widely with all stakeholders and accommodate shades of their inputs into the Bill.
He expressed optimism that through widespread liaison with various stakeholders in the nation's oil sector, the panel would accurately meet its mandate and protect interest of Nigerians.
The Speaker's remark came after what appeared an endless debate on the Bill which was introduced to the House on Wednesday, and currently at the Second Reading stage.
While commending attitude of the House over the PIB, Tambuwal said "I must commend the patriotism of the members of this honourable House because no one today spoke against the Second Reading of this Bill.
"I urge all Nigerians to continue making efforts to move Nigeria forward. Nigerians should moderate their sentiments and be proud as Nigerians," he added.
Though no specific time frame was given for the panel to complete its job, a reliable source said the work may last the next one month.
It said members have swung to work immediately after their names were announced on the floor, an indication of the interest of the House in PIB.
The lawmakers almost divided themselves along regional boundary lines on Wednesday when the Bill was first read by House Leader Mulikat Akande-Adeola.
While some believe the Bill is in favour of the oil rich Niger/Delta region, and could not be passed in entirety, many were of the opinion that powers allocated to the office of the Petroleum Minister in the Bill must be reduced.
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