2 months ago
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An elder statesman and activist in the Niger Delta, Sokari Soberekon, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to restore the petroleum subsidy which he removed during his inauguration speech on May 29, 2023.
Recall that President Tinubu has, in recent times, been under pressure from Nigerians to restore petrol subsidy, following the hike in the pump price of petrol, with its attendant hike in the cost of living standard and high rising inflation that continues to ravage the economy.
Speaking with select journalists in Port Harcourt, the elder statesman, Soberekon said on no account should Tinubu reverse the petrol subsidy removal.
Questioning the rationale behind subsidy when crude oil is produced in the Niger Delta and was supposed to be refined there, he described petrol subsidy as an avenue for looting of public funds, which he said could have been used to improve the lives of Nigerians, especially Niger Deltans, who he said are suffering intense hardship, poverty and under-development even though the oil sustaining the nation’s economy comes from their land.
Soberekon called on the Federal Government to allow Niger Deltans to control their God-given oil and pay tax to the centre as it should be done in any true federal system of government.
Further justifying his call that the petrol subsidy should not be restored, the Kalabari-Ijaw-born activist regretted that when the practice was still operational, the Niger Delta people were buying petrol at the same price as other Nigerians despite being the oil owners.
He said: “Oil subsidy must not be restored. No pressure should make Tinubu succumb and fix it because it was fraudulent. Oil is produced and refined in the Niger Delta, yet we buy petrol at the same price with other Nigerians. Where then is the subsidy they were talking ¹about?
“Fuel was 9 and half Kobo in the late 70s and early 80s. It was later increased to 15 Kobo and I went on hunger strike. I said: ‘Petrol is produced here, why must we pay like other Nigerians?’”
Soberekon lamented that despite the billions of naira generated from crude oil in the Niger Delta, there is no major federal project in the region to show for it.
He said that the Dangote Refinery should buy crude oil from the oil-bearing communities and pay them in dollars to enable them develop their land and pay tax to the Federal Government.
The elder statesman condemned the privatisation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and called for the legalization of artisanal refining as part of the modular refining system.
He said, “NNPC was fraudulently privatised. Don’t sell our oil in naira; sell it in dollars. Kpofire (artisanal refineries) should be legalised as modular refineries and their products should be paid for in naira.
“The oppression must stop. Tinubu should protect our interests. The traditional rulers should be allowed to oversee the oil and the derivation tax should be paid to them for the development of their communities.”
