The Vice-Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Sunny Ugbuoji, says that the outcome of the ongoing Senate investigation into kerosene subsidy will determine the future of subsidies on petroleum products in the country.
Ugbuoji said this when he spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Monday.
He added that the investigation would show whether the Nigerian masses actually benefited from subsidies on petroleum products.
The senator said that “the whopping funds” being expended on subsidising petroleum products would have served better purpose if they were channelled into critical sectors of the nation’s economy.
He added: “That should not be and that would not be allowed to continue.
“This also will give us the opportunity to decide if we truly still need subsidy or not.
“As it stands today, what is being spent on subsidy on petroleum in Nigeria is more than the capital budget of the country.
“No wonder, the economy is not being stimulated.
“The masses that actually need this subsidy don’t benefit from it.
“This is because some few individuals corner this money (subsidies) and use it for their personal gains.”
Ugbuoji further assured Nigerians that the delay in the passage of the amendment to the Electoral Act would not affect the conduct of the 2015 general election.
He stressed that it was legal for the Independent National Electoral Commission to continue working with the existing electoral law, which empowered it to conduct elections, anytime, without having to wait for the passage of the amendments.
he said: “INEC is asking for amendment in the existing Electoral Act.
“They are not supposed to just stay there without doing anything.
“Suppose the National Assembly is unable to conclude this bill and the National Assembly thinks otherwise that the extant laws are good enough to conduct the 2015 elections?
“So, it is good that they are asking for amendment and it’s also good that they are saying that it is better not to be taken unawares”.
The Ebonyi (PDP) lawmaker also observed that the spate of defections by members of the National Assembly was part of democracy, so long as it was done in accordance with the law.
He urged some members of the National Assembly who want to defect to other parties to adhere strictly to the provisions of the Constitution, which they swore to uphold at all times.
He added: “What is happening now is what is expected in a pre-election year because politicians are looking for where to survive.
“So, what one would insist is that it should be done within the ambit of the law.
“It is a matter of the Constitution, which we all swore to uphold.”
He said that there would be more defections as the primaries approach because many politicians would be seeking platforms to get nomination for elective offices.
In a related development, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria on Monday called on the Federal Government to effectively monitor the sale of kerosene in filling stations across the country.
Oluwaseyi Gambo, the National Public Relations Officer of PENGASSAN, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos.
Gambo said that lack of interest in monitoring and effective regulation by government agencies were responsible for some filling stations selling the product above the approved pump price of N50 per litre.
He said: “It is only in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation mega stations that we know it’s being sold at a regulated price.
“There should be publicity on radio, television and the newspapers on how much kerosene is being sold for at our filling stations.
“The government should set up monitoring units to monitor and arrest those stations that sell above the approved pump price.
“If there is a threat to shut down the wells, which will affect the cabals in and out of government, you will see a more purposeful response.”
Gambo urged the government to resuscitate the country’s four refineries so as to encourage an increase in local production of petroleum products.
He said: “That is why we are always saying that our refineries should be made to work.
“They should get crude oil to the refineries and make necessary extractions of petroleum, diesel and kerosene, which will be done at a much more cheaper cost than what we incur by bringing in finished products from abroad.
“Even our children and people in the sector will have work, instead of us paying the wages of workers in foreign lands.”
Gambo said that as a government that had the interest of the masses at heart, it should ensure that subsidy was enjoyed by those who should enjoy it.
He added that while maintaining the subsidy, government should intensify efforts to make sure that the pipelines were secured and crude oil is delivered to the refineries.
The PRO also urged the government to ensure that the products get to the masses at a cheap rate.
Gambo, however, said that the union was ready to assist government in articulating a framework that would eradicate some lingering challenges in the oil sector.
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