By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
Oyo State Governor and presidential candidate of the African People’s Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, has said Nigerians should not be made to bear the cost of the government’s inability to secure its borders with regard to recent debates on fuel subsidy.
Makinde stated this in the September edition of his newsletter, The Business of Governance, published on Friday, September 4, titled ‘What Reser Nigeria Means,’ noting that Nigerians should be able to understand the factors determining the price of petrol.
He added that the debate over fuel subsidy is focused on the wrong question, arguing that the country needs to review its petroleum pricing framework.
The governor said the pricing framework should clearly disclose the crude oil price benchmark, refining costs and margins, exchange-rate assumptions, logistics and distribution costs, taxes and levies, as well as other variables used to determine pump prices.
Makinde noted the challenges facing country, saying, “This tells us that Nigeria’s challenge is bigger than the individuals occupying public office at any particular time. We must address the systems, institutions and structures that continue to reproduce outcomes that do not serve the majority of our people.
“Take petroleum pricing as an example. For years, the debate in Nigeria has largely been presented as a choice between subsidising petroleum products or allowing Nigerians to pay the full market price. I believe we are asking the wrong question. The more important question is: what is the right pricing framework for an oil-producing country like Nigeria?
“Different countries arrive at petroleum prices differently. What Nigerians deserve to know is the current pricing framework and the assumptions that determine what we pay at the pump: the crude price benchmark, refining costs and margins, exchange-rate assumptions, logistics and distribution costs, taxes and levies, and the other variables included in that calculation. These should be publicly accessible and sufficiently clear for Nigerians to interrogate the basis of the price they are paying and compare it with the alternatives.”
Makinde also argued against the government’s approach of discouraging smuggling of petroleum products to neighbouring countries by making Nigerians pay higher fuel prices by removing subsidy.
“We should also reject the argument that Nigerians must pay more for petroleum products simply to eliminate the price difference that makes smuggling into neighbouring countries profitable. Nigerians should not be made to bear the cost of government’s inability to secure its borders,” he said.
The governor said the debate should therefore move beyond whether subsidy should be restored or remain removed, stressing that Nigerians deserved to benefit fairly from the country’s natural resources.
“The petroleum question should therefore not simply be whether subsidy should return or remain removed. It should be whether the pricing system we are using is the right one for Nigeria and whether it allows Nigerians to derive a fair benefit from the natural resources they own,” he said.
Makinde added that he would present an alternative petroleum pricing framework in the coming weeks for Nigerians to assess in addition to his ideas around resetting the country’s economy, securityvarchitecture, education, among others
“Reset Nigeria is a national movement to rebuild Nigeria’s systems and institutions so that Nigeria works for every Nigerian.
“A national reset therefore requires both accountable leadership and active citizenship. It asks those who govern to serve differently, but it also asks every Nigerian to participate differently.
“This will not be an instant transformation, nor will it be the work of one person. It must be a deliberate national effort supported by a clear roadmap, measurable priorities and the sustained participation of Nigerians at home and abroad,” he added.
