Fuel Subsidy Removal in Nigeria

AN ESSAY ON THE REMOVAL OF FUEL SUBSIDY IN NIGERIA

In developed countries, the removal of fuel subsidy is not a one man decision rather a decision made by the executive, judiciary and legislative arm of the government. In addition, the funds generated from such subsidy removal are channeled to the appropriate places for economic growth and development. This is however not the case in Nigeria; where instead of practicing democracy, it is “cabalocracy” that is being practiced.

On the 1st January, 2012, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) announced the removal of the oil subsidy which has for the last decade pegged the price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as the “fuel for sixty-five Naira per litre”. The government’s decision to eliminate Nigeria’s costly but highly popular fuel subsidy program sparked mass protest and unrest across the country as the cost of PMS (Premium Motor Spirit) increased by over a hundred percent. The knock on effect of the decision saw concomitant increases in the prices of transport fares, cost of goods and other services that are reliant on the consumption of fuel. With no increase in the levels of wage earned and overall household income, the average Nigerian lives on less than US$1 a day, the gap between the income and an cost of living has now meeting an all time high and the Nigerians felt they as the people would have to stand up and protect their civil rights against the government.

On the 9th January 2012, the Organised Labour led by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) as well as other professional bodies and Civil Society Organisations began a nationwide strike that brought the nation to a Society was at a standstill. There was no economic productivity; people could not get to work, movement was restricted and Offices were shut down. People protested peacefully and used their civil power to try and force the Federal Government to back down...