OPS seeks end to subsidy regime, govt-run railway sector

Members of the Organised Private Sector have urged the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to take a decisive action to end fuel subsidy and begin privatisation of the refineries, while revamping nation’s moribund railway sector.

The private sector, under the aegis of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), said the call, which aligns with the All Progressives Congress (APC) election campaign promises, would revive the economy.

NECA President, Larry Ettah, at the 58th yearly general meeting of the body in Lagos on Tuesday, said the economy of the country had taken a downward slope in the last couple of years, and worsened by high level of corruption and wastages, especially in the petroleum sector.

For true ‘change’ in the sector, he said it would begin with the government taking a deceive action in the privatisation of the four refineries as a means to ensuring their efficient running and saving on the wastes associated with perpetual but ineffective turnaround maintenance of the aged refineries.

He added that the Federal Government should as well seize the appropriateness of the time to end the subsidy regime for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) as has been done successfully with diesel and aviation fuel.

“This will free the much required resources for national development and government will also do well by going the whole hog of deregulating the downstream sector of the Petroleum Industry as this will encourage the setting up of the private sector-owned refineries, which are required in ending the long years of shame (and wastages) of dependence on imported petroleum products and create jobs locally in the domestic refining and petrochemical sector,” he said.

Reiterating that privatisation, free enterprise and private sector-led economy hold the key to national development, Ettah said it was high time the government had fully come to terms with the strategic importance of the private sector around the world and leave businesses to real businessmen.

He said that it had been proven all around the world that the best model of development “is when government restricts its role to that of an enabler of the private sector as an engine of growth.”

“In this regard, the issue of security, infrastructural development and effective fiscal/monetary policies should be accorded priority,” adding that every yet-to-be privatized commercial-oriented institution that ordinarily should be a private sector business should be considered for the exercise.

“I felt happy to hear that government is contemplating the privatisation of our National Rail System. The British did it under the government of Margret Thatcher and they are better for it. That is truly the direction to go. We may indeed consider the airports as well for the private sector management once appropriate security oversight can be maintained by government,” he said.

Ettah said further that the automotive policy is of immense strategic importance to the economy, given its’ potential to create employment and contributes in many other ways to the overall development of the economy.

“The National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) is, therefore, a welcome policy as it is designed and likely to stimulate development in the automotive industry and overall growth of the economy.

“In view of its impact on employment, if implemented faithfully without waiver or threat of possible reversal, we are of the view that it should be sustained and deepened. However, consideration of exception should be examined for certain categories of non-luxury heavy duty vehicles that cannot and will not be assembled in Nigeria in the short and medium term”, he added.