Oil Marketers Urge President Tinubu To Relax Subsidy Removal

Oil marketers have urged President Bola Tinubu to learn from Kenya, which has reinstated subsidy after noticing its negative impact, demanding that the Nigerian President should also do the same and gradually relax fuel subsidy removal.

Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN)'s Secretary named Mohammed Shuaibu said, "We learned this morning that Kenya, which equally removed subsidy and noticed that its effect was so hard on the citizens, has again resumed the subsidy regime for the period of two months," Punch reported.

IPMAN's Shuaibu noted that if the government doesn't do the needful, then it will see the consequences. He further added that the government should be "about the people" and have a "listening ear."

He pointed out that only four refineries are working at this moment while all others are down in the country, asking the government how an oil-producing nation can run as it is now dependent on imports.

"When he (Tinubu) announced that thing (subsidy removal), we said it was going to bring problems. Are we not feeling the consequences of that announcement now? It is forex that largely determines the cost of petroleum products here," he added.

Shuaibu shared that the oil marketers are not willing to import products again. As a result, the Nigerian government should relax the removal of subsidy for some time like Kenya.

After months of protest, the Kenya government has reinstated a small subsidy to stabilize fuel prices for the next 30 days in the country. The subsidy was removed in September by the President of Kenya, William Ruto. The new development was announced on Tuesday.

Considering Kenya's situation, Shuaibu went on to explain that "relaxing subsidy removal is going to be a very wise decision right now because going by the price of the dollar, the cost of petrol is bound to rise."

Furthermore, he disclosed that some oil marketers are all set to join the labor union protest.

IPMAN's National Public Relations Officer, Chief Chinedu Ukadike also shared his views on the subsidy removal and questioned, "How can you stop subsidy without anything on the ground as palliatives?"

"Trips that used to be N5,000 in the past and now over N15,000," he added. "Businesses are shutting down. The suffering is rising. The government has to intervene now."

Subsidy removal was announced by President Tinubu on May 29 and since then fuel and food prices have skyrocketed.

The situation in Nigeria has become so poor that thousands of Nigerian youths attacked the National Emergency Management Agency warehouses in Kaduna and Adamawa states earlier this month.

This incident caused the lives of four people as security operatives shot them while 47 people were arrested.