THE PMS DEREGULATION POLICY: BUHARI, A TYRANT OR A HERO?
The last time I checked, the federal
government had completely removed the subsidy on petrol otherwise known as
Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), thereby hiking the price of the said product from #86.5
its previous worth to #145.
Subsidy is a statutory fund invariably
released by the government on a certain commodity or good with a view to
reducing the price of the good, to enable the citizenry purchase it at ease. Hence,
the recent total removal of the PMS subsidy implies that henceforth the said
product will no longer enjoy such gesture.
Implementation of suchlike policy by the
government was informed by the obvious fact that the prime reason for which the
subsidy was made was being shortchanged owing to corruption. Needless to say;
the so-called subsidy on petrol consistently constituted more harm than good.
To this end, the President Mohammadu Buhari - led administration via the effort
of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Dr Ibe Kachikwu, thought it
wise to deregulate the sector for the interest of Nigerians in general.
Deregulation, on its part, is the act of
selling off a certain government firm, sector or parastatal to interested
private investor(s) as a result of a tangible reason, contrary to concession
which is the practice of leasing the management of a particular government
firm, sector or parastatal to interested private investor(s) for a stipulated
period of time after which the government can redeem the ownership.
It’s noteworthy that deregulation could be
whole or public–private partnership. For instance, in the Nigeria’s power
sector, what’s presently taking place is the latter; the government sold off
the distribution section of the sector. Power supply involves three major
segments namely, the generation, transmission, and distribution segments
(phases); so the ownership of the distribution phase was sold to private
investors.
Similarly, before now, what we were
witnessing in the petroleum sector was public-private partnership whereby the
government was the major determinant of pricing; but at the moment, the private
investors have been empowered to own refineries, hence determine the price of
the petroleum products just as it’s currently witnessed in the telecom sector.
In a regime of this kind, what makes the price of the goods to be affordable is
competition. When such embargo is lifted, most entrepreneurs would be
interested to invest in the sector, which in the long run would definitely
usher in a competitive market where every investor would aspire to attract the
highest patronage.
One may wonder: why didn’t the government
consider addressing the menace occasioned by corruption that was hindering the
anticipated effective functionality of the subsidy regime, rather than
outrightly removing the subsidy? Or better still, fix or revive the country’s
moribund refineries. The awful truth is that even if the government eventually
succeeded in rejuvenating the four incapacitated refineries, it won’t serve up
to forty percent (40%) of the Nigerian population. In other words, there’s a
compelling need for establishment of several other refineries that would cater
for the entire population which is almost 200 million.
The costly mistake the government did was
that the citizens were taken totally unawares. Implementation of a policy of
this nature has a fundamental procedure, and the procedure remains that every
relevant stakeholder or group must assent to the proposal seeking for such
implementation. Government cannot wake one morning and put up an austerity
measure. It’s even more pathetic that the organized labour wasn’t carried
along; they were only notified on the proposed measure, not that their consent
was sought.
This is why every concerned Nigerian would
say: is Buhari a tyrant or a hero? In some quarters, people are of the view
that the leader in question could be best described as a tyrant for having
implemented the PMS deregulation policy unannounced, whilst in some other
quarters, those who seem to acknowledge the essence of such ostensibly
cruel-like step are immensely chanting that Buhari is indeed a hero. What we
must take into cognizance is that implementation of some harsh policies such as
this very one requires the use of non-human face, because if the government
decides to wait till the citizens unanimously approve the proposal, implementation
of such lofty policy would end up being a shambles.
Since
the policy is genuinely targeted at bringing in a positive change, what we need
to do is to accept our fate in good faith, thus wait patiently for the fruit of
such labour. What the organized labour is expected to do at this point is to
give the government a mandate. An ultimatum of about twelve months or
thereabouts can be issued to the government, mandating it to ensure that such
policy yields a wholesome fruit within the given period; else, it should
consider reversing it thereafter.
And while the citizens wait, the
government ought to note that they deserve compensation so that many wouldn’t
depart eternally before the policy becomes productive. They should be duly
compensated by ensuring that every clause in the 2016 budget is thoroughly
implemented without further ado. On the other hand, there ought to be a
legislation regarding the policy, thus the lawmakers are required to headlong
pass a bill as regards the policy into law, so that, Nigerians won’t be of the
notion that their leaders are acting outside the box; similarly, the Petroleum
Industry Bill (PIB) should be revisited toward ensuring a speedy passage.
In the same vein, the regulatory agencies
to include the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Department
of Petroleum Resources (DPR), as well as the Consumer Protection Council (CPC)
should be more proactive at this critical moment, especially in regard to
pricing, purity/quality, and measurement of the petroleum products in various
filling stations.
It isn’t anymore news that some of the
petroleum dealers often adulterate the products; and in most filling stations,
you would observe that their metres were adjusted, thereby making consumers purchase
a quarter-litre of PMS or as the case may be, in the name of one litre.
Consumers deserve to enjoy the real value of whatever they purchase, and this
shouldn’t be an exception. Moreover, before we start witnessing the anticipated
competition in the market in question, the agencies must ensure that the
products aren’t sold at outrageous prices.
The ongoing renewed Niger-Delta militancy
cannot be left out while discussing the petroleum sector. Toward resolving any
crisis, we must endeavour to ascertain the fundamental origin of the mayhem.
The said militants are called Avengers, which indicates that they are
significantly a set of aggrieved individuals; hence, we must find out what
their grievances are. One may wonder: after the commendable amnesty programme
initiated by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, which held waters, why
would these men return to the field? The government ought to endeavour to fill
the actual lapse.
Anyone who truly means well for Nigeria
looks forward to seeing an era where everyone including critics, sceptics, and
cynics would address President Buhari as a hero for having taken this giant
step which was long overdue, thus the government must do everything humanly
possible towards ensuring that the policy isn’t bedeviled by any form of
sabotage. Think about it!
Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor
(TheMediaAmbassador)
-Public
Affairs analyst & Civil Rights activist-
Chief Executive
Director, Centre for Counselling, Research
& Career
Development - Owerri
_____________________________________
frednwaozor@gmail.com
+2348028608056
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