Mixed reactions continue to trail the removal of petrol subsidy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Till date, many Nigerian citizens are criticising the policy and its timing.
Following the announcement during President Bola Tinubu’s inaugural address on May 29,2023, it has redefined the dynamics of petroleum marketing in Nigeria, largely benefiting the petroleum products dealers and traders but hurting the citizens. This used to be the narrative.
One of the phrases that stood out in President Bola Tinubu’s inaugural speech, is that “subsidy is gone”, he announced to the dismay of Nigerians. The nation was just recovering from the devastating blows of cash crunch. President Bola Tinubu, made hearts sink when he announced that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government did not make any provision for subsidy in the budget he inherited.
It was on this premise that Metro Focus correspondents went round the city centre and environs to sample the opinions of citizens on the effect of the fuel subsidy removal.
Among citizens interviewed were Magdalene Samuel Mafulul, a hairstylist, and a resident of Jos South. She narrated her ordeal thus: The fuel increment has caused a lot of setback to my business. I’m losing customers day by day as a result of the hike in the fuel price. Many of my customers that used to come from far places, no longer come to patronise my business again, due to the increase in transportation fare.
“Again, the hike has also affected the goods I use in my business like relaxer, shampoo, wigs and hair attachments. They have increased without a stable price. Customers can no longer bear the price of our services and most of the time, I run at a loss.”
Also, Dorcas Emeka, a petty trader within the Jos South Local Government Area that sells perishable goods like onions, tomatoes, pepper and spinach etc, barred her mind on the recent fuel hike. Her story is not different from the one above. She said business is no longer what it used to be. Customers don’t buy goods like before and the more the goods stay, the more they spoil.
“Currently, i am running business at a loss due to the increase of the transportation fare,” she stated.
A commercial bus driver by name Haruna Muhammad, plying Jos and Bukuru Express Way, lamented that commuters don’t agree with the new transport fare. They constantly argue with them as if it is their making.
“The commuters don’t care about our plight. All they want is a reduction in transport fare.The fuel hike has also affected other services in maintaining our vehicles”, he revealed.
Going by the current situation in the country, he doesn’t make reasonable profit at the end of the day, because the increase has affected other goods and services, making life unbearable to the citizens.
Mrs Ejike Nwanfor,a fashion designer, has lamented the cost of living after the subsidy was removed.
She said “The harsh economic situation has affected my business”. In the sense that she experiences very low patronage from her customers. They don’t think of dressing well, rather they are thinking about how to survive.
When you charge a customer, he or she would not be able to pay because of the high cost of the material and the services when using a generator to sew the clothes.
A” keke” NAPEP operator, Cornelius Pius shared his bitter experience on the recent fuel increase.
He added that citizens prefer to trek rather than use “keke” to reach their destination.We experience more people trekking than before. So Many of my fellow operators have parked their “keke” due to no passengers.
In the past, in spite of the removal of the subsidy, I used to make some reasonable profit from the business. But now, the situation has changed. It seems we are now only working for the oil marketers.
At the moment, I don’t know how I’m going to pay my children’s school fees in September,because the business is not flowing like it used to.
METRO FOCUS gathered that the Executive Secretary of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Mr. Clement Isong said that with the new petrol marketing regime, MOMAN members would be selling their products based on their cost of purchase.
However, since the pronouncement, petrol marketers have gone into a frenzy, hoarding petrol they have in stock, which they bought at a subsidised rate. They hike the pump prices to as high above 500 naira and the price is on the increase.
He urged Nigerians to embrace the new petrol marketing regime and reduce their fuel consumption. He advised that the government should put in place appropriate palliatives to cushion the effect on the most vulnerable citizens.
It is on record that the Labour Union and other organisations in the country have called on the present government to reverse the fuel pump price back to its normal price, because the citizens cannot bear the hardship of the economy.
Despite the palliative measures by the government to reach out to its citizens, the process and manner in which the palliative would be shared, would not be able to reach the common citizens and many citizens have frowned at the process.
Government needs to look into the process by thuggish and ensure that the common man gets the palliative and also better the economy.
