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It is quite easy for politicians to promise one thing before they get into government and once they get in, the story often changes into a form of excuse which will overlook some of their deliverables. Promising is easy, delivering is another trouble. When the world crude oil price started to cross the $60 mark, there were mounting fears that it would begin to affect the petrol pump price in Nigeria. Now that the average crude price has hit above the $70 mark, there was no other way than for the government to announce an increase in pump price. How the administration goes about the announcement was going to determine the perception of how Nigerians see and trust their leaders. The new hike came barely 24hrs after President Muhammadu Buhari promised to return fuel price to the point he met it – below N100 for Nigerians. Buhari met the price at N87 per litre when he assumed office in 2015. Since then, the pump price has only gone up even in the midst of inflation and economic recession. Still, the federal government has not totally stopped paying fuel subsidies to fuel marketers who import. In return, the biting costs of fuel have worsened inflation and living conditions for a country already designated as the world’s poverty capital.
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The Buhari administration also promised to revive the nation’s dilapidated refineries in his campaign rounds many years back. The nation’s four refineries have not only been gathering dust in abandon but have also been running at huge losses. Ignoring all of the political promises which have come forth as empty over time, the insincerity of government agencies and parastatals in the petroleum sector is deeply embarrassing. The NNPC had earlier last week revealed to Nigerians that there would be no new hikes. The announcement temporarily eased up the queues that were already building up at petrol stations across the nation. Then out of nowhere, the contradictory announcement by the PPPRA dropped. The statement by the PPPRA released on the night of Thursday stated that a litre of fuel would now be sold for prices ranging from N209 to N212 per litre for March. For a nation that is one of the largest oil producers in Africa and one of the largest suppliers of the world crude oil market, the nation should have grown past suffering incessant fuel price hikes. If well managed, Nigeria should not only be rich in oil wealth, but it should be weaning itself off dependence on oil by now. Norway, one of the world’s largest oil producers, has set a target of 2025 for phasing out cars using petrol and crossover to electric cars. And it is high time that leaders thought of better ways to manage our oil wealth in a way that will not turn into debilitating disadvantages for the economy and citizens. After all, the primary role of government is the provision of adequate security and welfare to the people. Source: Gazettengr Featured Image Source: This Day Live
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