The Civil Society Group for Good Governance, CSGGG, has tasked the Federal Government to speed up the rehabilitation of the county’s refineries to improve the availability of petroleum products locally and reduce importation.
The group also raised concerns about Nigeria’s fuel subsidy bill, which it decried was growing faster and bigger than what the country’s economy could carry.
It warned that the nation’s economy could collapse under the weight of the projected N3 trillion for subsidy in 2022 if urgent actions are not taken to reverse the subsidy regime.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, the President of the group, Ogakwu Dominic, urged the Federal Government to ensure adequate policies that will support Nigeria’s domestic refining capacity to meet local demand are in place before subsidy removal.
He said, ”A key area of concern is Nigeria’s fuel subsidy bill which is growing faster and bigger than what our country’s economy can carry, we join well-meaning Nigerians in calling on the Federal Government to speed up the rehabilitation of refineries to improve the availability and reduce importation.
”Let none of us be told that there is no subsidy. If there was none, organized labour would not threaten fire and brimstone whenever the government takes the bold step to remove the under-recovery of premium motor spirit”.
He lamented that the porous nature of the nation’s borders has given criminals the avenue to syphon petroleum products to neighbouring countries, further impoverishing the country.
”One urgent measure that needs to be addressed is our country’s borders which have remained largely porous. Without a doubt, some unpatriotic elements are cashing on this gap to divert and smuggle our subsidy-coated fuel to neighbouring countries.
”Nigeria has one of the cheapest fuel per litre in the entire West African sub-region. Our cheaper fuel is very attractive to smugglers and something drastic needs to be done to address this ugly trend and hopefully crash the PMS consumed daily,” he said.
”We want to use this forum to call on the Nigerian Customs Service and other relevant security agencies to pay special attention to our land borders to mitigate the smuggling of Nigeria’s petroleum products to neighbouring countries
