ACN Tasks Jonathan Over Speech

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) said President Goodluck Jonathan’s televised speech defending his government’s decision to withdraw fuel subsidy only succeeded in deepening the people’s mistrust of the administration, as it failed to address the pertinent issues.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the deficit of trust between the Jonathan administration and the Nigerian people is the main reason why the people did not take the President’s speech seriously, as shown in organised labour’s response that the strike due to start on Monday 9 January will go ahead in spite of the speech.

It recalled that while the President promised to consult with all stakeholders across the country and collate their views before taking a decision on the fuel subsidy issue, probably in April, he rather decided to ambush Nigerians and ruin their New Year celebrations by rushing to withdraw the subsidy after just one stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos.

”If the President did not stand by his earlier promise to Nigerians on this issue, why should they believe him now to do all that he has promised in his speech?,” the party queried.

ACN therefore re-stated its opposition to the removal of the fuel ‘subsidy’, saying all that the government subsidises are corruption and inefficiency. It also hailed the Governors of ACN states for their courage in standing on the side of the people and labour, in their quest to get the government to rescind its decision to remove fuel subsidy.

”The President seemed surprised that his action has inflicted untold suffering on Nigerians. He also said he feels the people’s pain. Our stand is that he does not. If he did, he would have rescinded a policy of fuel subsidy removal that obviously was not well thought out. What was the President thinking would happen when petrol price shoots up from 65 naira per litre to as high as 200 naira? Did we not warn that the action would deepen poverty and worsen the suffering of Nigerians?” the party queried.

On the so-called sacrifices by the government, which the President reeled out in his speech, ACN said it amounted to a mere tokenism compared to the avoidable pain and suffering that his administration’s decision has inflicted on Nigerians in the New Year.

”The President must tell Nigerians what 25% of basic salaries of public office holders amount to, and what impact this will have in a government suffused with incredible profligacy. We will also like to know the allowances and other perks that these officials receive, which is the core issue.

”We recall that when the stakeholders’ meeting was held in Lagos, government officials who attended were ferried to Lagos in four different private jets. So who is fooling who about cutting the cost of governance. In any case, the recurrent vote in this year’s budget is a high 74 per cent, compared to 26% for capital. How will the tokenism announced by the President reduce this?

”The truth is that a government that has budgeted 2.3 billion in just a little over two years, including 1 billion naira in 2012 alone, for feeding the presidency alone cannot be serious about cutting cost or engaging in shared sacrifice. This sacrifice is one-sided, and it is being borne by the people of Nigeria while the government engages in Arabian-style opulence,” the party said.

On other measures like provision of buses and completion of railway lines, ACN said the President was merely putting the cart before the horse by removing subsidy first.

”We had called for safety nets to be provided by the government if it was bent on removing subsidy. We had called for massive infrastructural development, including roads and alternative means of transport like the waterways and the railways. We had asked the government to repair existing refineries and build modular ones. The government ignored all this, only to now be talking about some ill-thought-out mass transit programme. Even if all the 1,600 buses to be procured by the government are deployed to Lagos, on what roads will they be driven? What impact can they have in a state with a population in excess of 15 million?

”We maintain that it is disingenuous for the government that says it can no longer afford the funds to subsidise fuel to now turn around to say it will use the funds to build infrastructure. In the first instance, were the savings from the fuel subsidy included in the 2012 budget? Can the government spend money that has not been appropriated? In any case, we have always argued that the issue of fuel subsidy is not pure economics, but that it has implications for the welfare and security of the citizenry,” the party said.

It also challenged the government to counter, with facts and figures, the conclusion by experts that there is indeed no subsidy on fuel; that the production from local refineries, even though they are functioning far below capacity, is enough to meet domestic needs hence there is no need to import fuel.

”We will also like to ask the government again to tell Nigerians what happens to the 445,000 barrels per day allocated to the NNPC?

If part of this is refined locally, what is the cost? And what is the landing cost of part of the NNPC allocation swapped with some refineries abroad? And who are the beneficiaries of this?” ACN said.

The party said the best way President Jonathan can show that he feels the pain of his compatriots is to admit that his administration made a mistake in rushing to withdraw fuel subsidy and reverting to the old price, adding that cheap tactics to break the ranks of labour or send the police after protesters will not work.