“There will be removal of fuel subsidy and petrol (PMS) will sell over N100/litre, leaving the masses in more serious hardship. Product will not be available and long queues in petrol stations will persist throughout the first quarter of 2016 and beyond”. To say that the above prediction came to pass is putting it mildly, because a worse scenario actually played out.
The absence of the usual subsidy component in the latest PPPRA template indicates that the Federal Government’s decision to officially remove subsidy on PMS, better known as petrol, has since commenced.
The official pricing template for petrol by the PPPRA as of December 29, 2015, had seen the Federal Government subsidizing the product by N6.45 per litre, when the Estimated Open Market Price (EOMP), at that time was N93.45.
This was N6.45 higher than the then retail price of N87 per litre. The EOMP is the summation of the landing cost of petrol and sub-total margins which include transporter’s cost, dealer’s charge, bridging fund, administrative charge, etc.
This, to experts, makes EOMP the true cost of the product. However, Nigerians went through, and are still going through, the most harrowing and hellish experience ever before witnessed in this country, on fuel brouhaha. Queues running into kilometers, people sleeping at fuel stations for upwards of three days, citizens carrying generators on their heads to secure fuel, mass trekking by Nigerians for lack of transportation, and businesses generally grinding to a total halt, saw Fayose’s predictions realized 100%.
His prediction that fuel will sell for over N100/litre, became a child’s play, as fuel actually sold for over N400/litre across many states in Nigeria. This writer personally purchased fuel on some occasions for N420/litre, to survive. The situation, though slightly now better, has not in any way disproved Fayose.
ELECTRICITY
Fayose’s prediction was that “Power generation will drop to the lowest ebb. Still, Federal Government will increase tariff in 2016”. I was one of those who felt Fayose had exaggerated or missed the point totally. I could not imagine the paradox of consumers of electricity being made to pay higher tariffs for epileptic or non available electricity. But, this madness has since occurred. Nigerians, who had been paying the highest tariff per kilowatt of electricity in Africa, had their nightmares compounded. NERC, the regulatory body, on February 1, commenced the implementation of new electricity tariff for residential and industrial users across the country.
Under the new tariff regime, R2 customers covered by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, who had been paying N13.91 per kilowatt hour (Kwh) witnessed an increase by N9.60. Consumers under the Eko and Ikeja electricity distribution areas who had been paying N12.87kwh and N13.61kwh, respectively, witnessed a N10 and N8 increase respectively, in their energy charges.
Electricity consumers covered by Kaduna and Benin Discos who were initially paying N16.90 Kwh and N12.54kwh, witnessed an increase of N11.05 and N9.26 respectively, in their energy charges. More foreboding was the fact that on March 31, 2016, the Nigerian nation had no electricity at all on her national grid, to distribute to homes and businesses, because the entire system collapsed.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria actually admitted that this happened between the hours of 12.35pm and 3pm, because none of the 11 electricity distribution companies in Nigeria (DISCOS), got power distribution as a result of the tripping of the Osogbo/Ihovbor and Ihovbor/ Benin 330Kv transmission lines. So, electricity did not just “drop to its lowest ebb”, as predicted by Fayose, it actually dropped to ZERO!
NOW THIS
ECONOMIC POLICY
On economic policy, Fayose predicted that “most private owned middle-class businesses will fold up because of bad economic policies of the Buhari-led government”. To say this has come to pass is an understatement. Most small scale and middle class businesses that could not access electricity, PMS, diesel, security, foreign exchange, etc, have since folded up.
Some are barely gasping for breath. Some have relocated to neighbourly Ghana and Benin Republic. Section 14 of the 1999 Constitution provides that the welfare and security of Nigerians shall be the primary purpose of government.
However, since government cannot always provide full employment for the people, what it does is to provide the enabling environment for non-state actors to bridge the gap.
These non-state actors include small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs), among others. But, the challenges facing the growth and survival of SMEs in Nigeria today, is primarily, funding. Most new small business enterprises are not attractive prospects for banks, as they want to minimize their risk profile.
The low level of SMEs development in Nigeria is generally attributed to the poor conception and implementation of government policies aimed at SME support facilities and incentives, including loans, training facilities, industrial estates, tax holiday, import liberalization, infrastructure and the provision of raw materials at subsidized rates for SMEs.
AND THIS
REACTIONS BY AVID READERS
There has always been a deluge of reactions to this column. Readers have been agitating to be heard. Today, we begin some of their weekly feedback.
DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM THIS COLUMN
Sir, my name is Mbaye Samuel Nto-obari, an ND2 student of Mass Communication, Ken Poly, former Rivers State polytechnic, Bori, Rivers State. I am very delighted and proud of your person. Your words are highly inspirational and are full of realities. I buy the Sunday Telegraph just to read “the Nigeria Project”. Keep it up sir, as you inspire young minds. 09039140928.
Sir, like the Bible warns us in Ephesians 4:27, “and give the devil no chance, grieve not also the holyspirit God has deposited to dwell in you richly”. I am persuaded by the spirit of God to declare to you that you should keep on talking, speaking, writing, telling the truth.
Nigerians, the good and bad leaders, the honest and parochial ones, the pure in heart and ethnic, religious, and those with bias, cliquish interests, agenda are digesting your empirical, objective sermons.
Example, PMB has since corroborated, harmonized and validated Nigeria Project’s prophetic sermons especially, when he declared few days ago, thus, “27 out of 36 states are broke, I am afraid I did not succeed in the elections in Kogi, Bayelsa and Rivers”. Pst. S.C. Obasi, 08033455244. Sir, I have been reading your write up every week in Sunday Telegraph and I have come to know that you are the mouthpiece of the common man.
Please sir, my people of Ekporo Community in Eleme LGA, Rivers State, have been displaced from their ancestral home since October, 2013, till date, by our neighbours, Ogu Community and nobody cares because we don’t have a voice. We are suffering untold hardship.
Come to our aid, sir and be a voice for us. Who knows whether through you we will go back. God bless you. Rev. Mrs. Akate Joel Kenwi, Commonwealth Covenant Church, Nchia Eleme, 08036761274. Please, my brother, Mike, on your write up on “trial by installment”, stop deceiving us your fans.
You ought to speak out on the disappointing role respected learned colleagues like Prof. Sagay, is playing in the APC-led government against the rule of law in a democratic era. We are watching. 08034338077.
LAST LINE
Nigerians, PMB, Fayose, Ekiti, avid readers, please, await the next tranche of Fayose’s predictions, even as you read today’s sermon on the “Mount of the Nigerian Project”
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