Conditions provided by the Trade Union Congress, Nigeria Labour Congress, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria for the elimination of fuel subsidy have actually been made public.

Speaking on Tuesday, the National President, Trade Union Congress, Quadri Olaleye, the union was not against the removal of the fuel aid if it would yield favorable outcomes.

He stated, “The fuel subsidy and the proposed walking in fuel rate is a rather prominent and repeating one. Nigeria is the only OPEC member country that imports more than 90 to 95 per cent of refined petroleum items for consumption.

“Nigeria has a total of 5 refineries across the country of which four are owned and managed by the federal government, and one by NDPR (Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Limited).

“It may interest you to understand that none of the government-owned refineries is working, yet in the past 10 years alone, the government has lost about $9.5 bn for turn-around maintenance of the moribund refineries.

“How can we rely on the federal government and be specific that they will in fact eliminate it this time round, since in the past, they have claimed to eliminate the so called ‘aid’, so how can what has been eliminated be removed once again?

“Will there be building and construction and utilisation of modular refineries as the government has formerly assured and failed to deliver? Will there be a rehab of existing moribund refineries?

“What will the government do to put an end to reliance on imported fuel? It is crucial to note these concerns since we require appropriate answers on what the federal government has to offer as stopped working pledges from the federal government have actually become the order of the day.”

The TUC demanded that if the subsidy was ultimately gotten rid of, the federal government must engage more on expenses that were beneficial to the economy rather than tasks that produce losses.

“There should be the facility of modular refineries and construction of functioning refineries in the country,” Olaleye stated.

Also speaking on the concern of fuel subsidy, the National President, IPMAN, Debo Ahmed, gave credence to the position of the TUC.

He stated, “We remain in support of aid removal but there are some conditions that we have that should be fulfilled, such as the availability of items, distance of supply, and other associated concerns.

“What we would enjoy to see is that the government makes sure that most of these moribund refineries are on the ground and working. If the majority of these refineries are working, it will be easy for the execution of subsidy removal, due to the fact that products will not undergo foreign exchange.

“It will enhance local production with improved sales. We desire them to make certain that these refineries are working and proximity to products is made available.”

ToriNG