-Petrol Subsidy Removal is now an issues of Law.
PIA has made Fuel Subsidy Payment an issue of Law.
The Senate President, Dr.Lawal’s statement to the press yesterday, That President Buhari has not given anybody directiive for Subsidy Removal is misleading and Political.
The president has directed, firstly, the incorporation of NNPC Ltd, and went ahead to appoint and Inaugurate the Board.
By this development, a commercial and private sector lead impetus has been birthed for Nigerian Petroleum industry.
Continuous Subsidy Payments is now outlawed and illegal.
Again, With oil prices experiencing a high rebound, the FG might continue to find it difficult to sustain subsidy payments, or even borrow to fund subsidies, but however, pressures & backlash from citizens and households dealing with poverty and hyper-inflation remain a great concerns.
With 2023 Elections at the corner, the ruling Party is finding it difficult to follow through with her great and courageous reforms in the Petroleum Sector, like Fuel Subsidy Removal due to political Survival, winning election and retaining Power in 2023.
As a Country, we cannot continue to operate a regime of Policy inconsistency and negation of our Laws without serious consequences.
Investments and investors gravitates towards Stable and sustainable business Environment with clear legal and Regulatory mechanism, where sanctity of contracts are respected and when there are breaches, remedies are certain.
The new Petroleum Industry Act, provides Nigeria, the twilight opportunity to attract meaningful Investments and wealth in the transitory realities of the global Petroleum Sector, to addressing our huge infrastructural deficit. Nigeria already lost more than $50billion dollars in the Petroleum Sector, due to our inability to pass the PIB for decades.
NNPC Ltd as a catalyst for infrastructural Development in Nigeria.
You will agree with me, that one of the most challenging problems of Nigeria is dearth of infrastructural.
This is seriously undermining our quest to put the Country in a trajectory of growth and development.
Infact, it is estimated by development experts, that the cost of addressing the deficit is put at about 3 trillion dollars. This is a huge huge resources, which the country currently cannot afford for now.
And for us as a Country to reached our full potential, considering how blessed our human Resources are, we must find a solution to addressing this Infrastructural deficit.
Currently, we are borrowing to meet a fracture of this demands. The burden of debt is becoming alarming and disturbing to the Country and citizens are worried, looking for an alternative model of solving the Infrastructural gap, without resorting to borrowing and debts.
It is in the mix of this debacle, that the NNPC under the leadership of Mele kyari, design an home grown Model of funding and financing of major Infrastructural Projects, positioning the oil giant as a catalyst of development and growth.
This model is not only an local Infrastructural development model, but is assuming the life of a special strategic project vehicle, boosting Investments and encouraging Investors. It is laying a solid foundation for attracting and consolidating Private- Public partnership that is mutually beneficial. This confidence building approach to infrastructural Development by the competent leadership of Mele kyari is phenomenal, and should be supported by all.
NNPC cannot meet this laudable targets of infrastructural Development by continuos bearing the burden of under recovery or subsidy payment in her balance sheets. No reasonable investors, will put his Capital or funds in such a opaque business practice.
The transitory realities of crude oil globally to cleaner energy sources, is a huge challenge, hence the need to make haste while the sun is still shining. We must chose as a Country to make this sacrifice now, by deployment of our crude oil wealth to key starting a paradise of wealth and prosperity through infrastructural Development.
Subsidy is a huge drain on this scarce revenue that is depleting every day and desire to meeting our infrastructural demands.
We cannot afford to be spending more than One(1) trillion naira Annually on consumption of petrol Subsidy, and expect to make any reasonable savings for expenditure on sustainable infrastructural Development.
The future will be very blink, if we chose to eat out future today.
We should exit this corruption laden system of Fuel Subsidy Payments.
Charles Ibiang,
Chairman,
Partners for Petroleum and Energy Sector Prosperity Initiative (P-PESPI)
08038661020.
