SUBSIDY| Nigeria is Broke - Lai Mohammed - EazyFeeds

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Thursday, 19 May 2016

SUBSIDY| Nigeria is Broke - Lai Mohammed

The Federal Government has admitted that Nigeria is broke and cannot contin­ue to sustain the outrageous subsi­dy on petrol.
The sad news was broken on Wednesday by the Minister of In­formation, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja.

And despite a tepid first day of a nationwide strike called by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over the recent petrol price hike, the Federal Government has de­clared its readiness to continue ne­gotiations with the labour leaders without invoking more possible le­gal options.
On the state of the economy, Mohammed said: "The current problem is not really about subsi­dy removal. It is about that Nigeria is broke; pure and simple!
He joined his counterpart in the Labour and Employment Min­istry, Dr. Chris Ngige, to brief news­men at the end of the FEC meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa.
The minister denied allegations that the government was encour­aging factionalism in the labour movement by negotiating sepa­rately with a breakaway section of the NLC in the efforts to avert the strike.
Mohammed reiterated that the hike in fuel price which triggered the strike was caused by no other than the fact that the country's rev­enue has dropped.
"A few months ago, we were earning as much as $100 for eve­ry barrel of crude. In the months of February and March, we were short. So, we no longer have the resourc­es, the foreign exchange to bring in refined fuel products and our econ­omy is shrinking.
"We appreciate the fact that the decision is going to affect eve­rybody. We appreciate what we are going through, but Nigerians should also know that the govern­ment has the responsibility at times to take very difficult decisions. So, it is not always about popularity, "he explained.
The minister pointed out that those now permitted to import pet­rol would not necessarily resort to the parallel foreign exchange mar­ket but through interbank sourc­es and rates, even as he stressed that the bulk of the country's forex comes from exports and oil sales.
Ngige, who briefed the NEC on the outcome of negotiations with labour, noted that the law prevents labour unions from proceeding on strike without giving government a 15-day notice, failure of which at­tracts some sanctions.
Despite this, the Federal Gov­ernment’s doors remain open to the aggrieved labour unions and lead­ers, Ngige said, adding that "we have a right to discuss with anybody."
The Minister of Justice, Abuba­kar Malami, announced that the FEC approved his memo on ensur­ing uniformity in the payment and settlement processes in the financial system in order to block leakages in Ministries, Departments and Agen­cies (MDAs). He is to now prepare a draft bill for forwarding to the Na­tional Assembly to make it a law.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has ex­plained that only the National As­sembly has the power to reintro­duce toll gates as additional sources for funding road maintenance.
Fashola made the explanation while fielding questions at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said that the government had no power to reintroduce toll gates unless the National Assem­bly gave legislative approval.
“If we have those legislative ap­provals in parliament, it means that Nigerians have voted for tolls.”
Fashola said he would sustain the reform work that the previous administration had commenced on how to fund roads.
He, however, noted that for tolls to achieve its purpose, the existence of secure payment plat­forms and effective monitoring capacity would be able to prevent leakages.
The minister hinted that more than 17,500 road construction workers are too be reengaged as contractors return to project sites across the country.
He said that the contractors had declared their readiness to reengage workers, who were laid off due to the huge debt owed by the Federal Government in the past three years.

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