Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria says the removal of petroleum subsidy by President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in 2012 was less painful than the one done by the President Muhammadu Buhari government in 2020.
PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, argued that the circumstances surrounding the recent increase in the cost of fuel were far worse than those of 2012.
He stated this on Friday while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme monitored in Lagos.
Jonathan had in January 2012 removed fuel subsidy, resulting in nationwide protests, especially in Lagos, where massive demonstrations were embarked upon by many residents to express their displeasure with the decision.
But the PENGASSAN President, while responding to a question, said removing the subsidy in 2012 was actually a better decision because it had a lesser effect on the people.
Osifo said increasing fuel price in 2020 amid the global COVID-19 pandemic and a debilitated economy could worsen the already parlous situation of Nigerians.
He noted that PENGASSAN and other stakeholders were not carried along by the government before taking its decision on the price hike.
On the Buhari government’s decision to increase fuel price inspite of the current hardship in the country, Osifo said, “I think the timing today is even more problematic compared to 2012 because we are battling a pandemic. I can tell you that for a lot of households their income has diminished; a lot of businesses have been shut down since March.
“I can tell you that today, Nigerians are facing hardship. I believe that 2012 was a bit better than it is today because the pandemic has ravaged the average household in Nigeria. You have seen the recent figures from the National Bureau of Statistics. We are actually in negative GDP. By the next quarter, we could be in recession. This is not the right time to have done this.”
The PENGASSAN boss noted that functional local refineries remained the best solution to fuel price hike.
But Osifo argued that for the time being government must do everything possible to alleviate the suffering of the people.
“This was not the right time to do such a thing because we are battling a global pandemic. This is the era where the real wage of workers has diminished. This is an era where we are entering a recession and other parts of the world and citizens are being supported with palliatives. I think this is not the best time to have done this,” he said.