Essential Ndubuisi
A civil society organization, Human Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), has called on the Nigerian government to address corruption and mismanagement in the petroleum sector before removing fuel subsidy. HEDA highlighted that the poor state of the country’s refineries is a result of these issues, and has caused an over-reliance on imported fuel, leading to the high cost of fuel and the need to remove subsidies.
In a statement issued by the Chairman of HEDA, Olanrewaju Suraju, the group criticized the $800 million loan taken from the World Bank to solve subsidy problems, describing it as a potential means to further plunge the country into debt and provide opportunities to divert public funds under the guise of palliatives.
HEDA has called on the government to implement policies that promote transparency and accountability, ensure a transparent process in the award of contracts, and the appointment of officials to oversee the refineries’ revamp. The group also called for an investigation into the utilization of all the previous Turn Around Maintenance allocations to the refineries from 1999 to date.
According to HEDA, by focusing on these suggestions, the government could create a sustainable and viable petroleum industry that would benefit all Nigerians. The organization has urged the Federal Government to prioritize fixing the refineries before removing the subsidy.
