Politics
Oil Subsidy’s Many Contradictions
The debate on the subsidy regime thrown up by the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government and the resultant nation-wide strike and protests by organized labour and civil society groups is far from being over, as the issue is still on the front burner of national discourse.
At the National Assembly, for instance, the House of Representatives’ Ad-hoc committee on the subsidy regime concluded its indebt probe a fortnight ago and is currently putting its report together, while the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Down stream) resumed its suspended public hearing on the sector last week. At both the House probe and Senate public hearing, the nation was treated to startling revelations that shocked not a few.
As the nation awaits the separate reports of both Houses of the National Assembly, The Tide took up issues arising from the probe with the sole sponsor of the motion on subsidy in the House, Hon. Kingsley Ogundu Chinda. A frontline member of the 7th National Assembly (Vice Chairman, House Committee on Customs and Excise) Hon. Chinda told The Tide that he sees contradictions in the handling of the fuel subsidy regime in the country and the entire imbroglio should be tackled frontally, and he tasked the government on this.
“So far, investigation by the House ad-hoc committee has been concluded and startling facts were revealed; the report of the committee will be made and forwarded to the Executive arm for action. I hope and pray that the Executive arm, in the interest of the nation, will act on the report expeditiously and not allowed the report rot on the shelve like many other reports,” he said.
The Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency (Rivers State) legislator said it was good that President Jonathan in fulfillment of his promise of creating employment with the money saved from subsidy, launched the government’s employment programme last week by inaugurating the implementation committee.
He acknowledged that the Dr. Christopher Kolade-led committee is empowered to manage proceeds from the subsidy, but added, “Let me say clearly that there are several contradictions in the system. Nigeria is still borrowing as we speak and appears to be poised to continue borrowing .
“We were informed that the country borrowed to fund fuel subsidy in 2011. If we stop subsidy payment, what we would have achieved is that we would have stopped borrowing. The issue of reinvesting the fund is illogical and contradictory. There are places in this country where fuel sells for N500 per litre as we speak. One of such places is Mr. President’s home state (Bayelsa)”, he lamented, adding persuasively, “something needs to be done.
“Government needs to gain citizens’ confidence and get them to buy into government policies. This can only be achieved if government is transparent and operates strictly by laid down rules that are clearly predictable.” He continued: “As I stated earlier at the heat of the subsidy removal, ‘for systems of administration or policies of government, let fools contend; what is best administered is best in any society’. What this means is that: It’s not the removal of subsidy that is the crux of the matter but it’s effective administration; it is not the policy but the administration of the policy that matters. That is why a policy can work in Ghana and may not work in Nigeria.
“Again, when national issues are discussed, people take regional and ethnic positions and abandon the nation; even among very highly placed officers, you see more of Ikwerre, Ibo, Yoruba, Hausa or Ijaw opinion or agenda, than the Nigerian project. All I will say is that we do not have a true Nigerian nation. What ww have is an amalgam of various nationalities. I pray that we begin to produce true Nigerians with Nigerian spirit, Nigerian orientation and Nigerian interest to get us out of this quagmire”.
The Tide asked Chinda of his input into the security puzzle that has bedeviled the nation and he drew The Tide’s attention to his recent motion on the prevailing security situation. Titled: ‘Need to urgently investigate and check the rising security challenges in the country’, the motion tasked the Federal Government to come up with a clear programme, solution, and/or policy on how to tackle the problem and not just to beg the problem or adopt a fire brigade measure.
Drawing example from late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s amnesty programme, which was instituted to quell the security challenges the nation was facing at the time from Niger Delta militants, Chinda said, “Now, I’m yet to see a clear programme on how to tackle the upheaval, We must come up with a clear programme on how to tackle the security challenges”.
The just-concluded 2012 budget defence of federal MDA’s at the National Assembly is one issue that cannot escape mention, especially since some committees embarked on a tour of some of these MDA’s before approving their budgets.
The Tide asked Hon Chinda, who led his Customs and Excise committee along with the chairman, Hon Sabo Nakudu on a tour of the Customs, their areas of operation, as part of their oversight function, on the committee’s discovery.
According to him, “We discovered during our oversight visit that our ports are heavily under-utilized, They are colossal wastes!” To this end, he has a motion before the House, mandating government to ‘put our ports to full use’.
There is also the issue of failed contract in the sector and already the erudite legislator has come up with a motion on that, titled : “ Failed contract for dredging of the Calabar channel and the Port Harcourt ports”.
He said there was need to re-award the contracts and put the channel and ports on sound footing so that they can generate more revenue to the Federal Government and create room for wealth creation in the region.”
He continued: “There is also need to connect Onne port to the National grid. It is disturbing that Onne port is not connected to the national grid till now; this is a misnomer. We also observed that fixed scanners were supposed to be installed at Onne and Port Harcourt ports but they are not there. Work has just started to fix the scanners and this is the last year of the five (%) year contract with SGS.
“Nigerians lost the opportunity of using the scanners for the duration of the 5 years contract and SGS is not likely to be there after this year to properly conclude the installation and testing of the scanners unless their contract is renewed. These anomalies should be corrected. I have motions before the House to properly empower the Committee to effectively deal with the situation”.
In addition, “We discovered that the employment pattern in the Nigeria Customs appears to be lop-sided and not in compliance with the constitutional provision for geographical spread. The Committee on Customs is recently working on that and we can say that we have received the assurance of the management of Nigerian Customs to correct the anomaly which has existed over the years.
“Also we discovered that state governments, particularly border states, do not pay attention to Nigeria Customs as one of the security agencies in the country. Nigerian Customs is supposed to protect borders and ensure that illegal goods, fire arms and explosives are not moved into the country. What it means is that they’ll be faced with the challenge of fighting criminals and high-class smugglers.
They, therefore, need proper equipment and they ought to be knitted fully to face the challenges,” he had expressing regret that while State Governments support the Police and other security agencies by providing operational vehicles and allowances, this goodwill is not extended to the Nigeria Custom.”
He that they observed in the course of the oversight function the commendable changes going on in the Nigerian Customs noting that the operations of custom are being digitalised making room for easy monitoring of the Customs and increases transparency, particularly in revenue collection in form of Excise duties, which accounts for the over 100% increase in revenue generated in 2011.
“There’s also concerted efforts to ensure speedy clearance of goods at the wharf. In this light, I’ll urge Nigerians to co-operate with the Agency and also report all cases of extortion or inordinate delay by the custom to the appropriate quarters, either the Controller – General’s office or the House Committee on Customs and Excise”, he said.
Justus Awaji, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted on the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise yesterday (Sunday) despite calls by some opposition political parties and civil society organisations for an extension over concerns that millions of citizens could be excluded from the 2027 general elections.
In a notice issued on its X (formerly Twitter) handle on Saturday, the commission reminded the public that the exercise would end on Sunday, July 26, with designated registration centres open from 9am to 3pm.
“Your future won’t wait. Neither should you. The Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise ends Sunday, 26 July 2026,” the Commission stated.
INEC also reminded prospective voters that they could complete the registration process online through its dedicated CVR portal or visit designated INEC offices and registration centres nationwide for physical assistance.
The new Electoral Act stipulates that INEC is required to stop voter registration, updating and revision of the voters’ register 90 days before an election to allow for data clean-up, the printing of Permanent Voter Cards and other logistical preparations.
The law also requires the Commission to display the voters’ register for claims and objections within the stipulated period to enable eligible Nigerians to challenge omissions and errors and help ensure the credibility of the final register for the polls.
The INEC National Commissioner on Information and Voter Education, Mr Mohammed Haruna, told The Tide source that the Commission would not extend the deadline, stressing that the registration exercise had to close to allow the electoral body to begin cleaning the data already collected.
“By midnight on Sunday, voter registration ends. There won’t be any extension. There are so many things that we need to do at the back end. We have to draw a line; otherwise, we won’t be able to produce a clean copy of what has been posted,” he said.
Mr Haruna explained that the commission’s Information Technology team and the Voter Registration Department would begin processing the data immediately after the closure of the registration window.
He said INEC would deploy its Automated Biometric Identification System to detect and remove multiple registrations before the provisional voters’ register is displayed for public scrutiny.
“We have this automatic biometric system that will check whether somebody has registered more than once. They will publish the register for claims and objections. That is, if anybody thinks a name shouldn’t be on the register, or if he has some claims, for instance, that his name has been omitted or some of his details are incorrect,” he said.
According to him, the final number of newly registered voters would only be known after the biometric verification and the claims and objections process.
“So, it’s after all that has been done that we will have a final figure, which we will now add to the existing 93 million or so. That will then become the voters’ register. We are mandated to give every political party a copy ahead of the election,” Mr Haruna added.
Responding to concerns over the number of Nigerians who may be excluded from the 2027 electoral process by the closure, the national commissioner said INEC could only account for eligible citizens who presented themselves for registration.
He added that the commission had recorded registrations through its online platform, physical registration centres and INEC offices across the 774 local government areas.
According to a public announcement signed by Mr Ariyo Rufus, Head of Department, Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Inclusivity on behalf of Mr Oluwatoyin Babalola, the INEC Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), the said exercise is aimed at assessing its operational readiness and testing the efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the governorship poll.
INEC stated that the exercise would simulate Election Day accreditation procedures but clarified that no voting would take place during the exercise.
The commission explained that “the mock accreditation would be conducted in selected polling units spread across the three senatorial districts of Osun State, covering Osun Central, Osun East and Osun West.
“In Osun Central Senatorial District, the selected local government areas are Osogbo, Olorunda, Ifelodun and Boripe, with designated polling units identified for the exercise.
“For Osun East Senatorial District, the exercise will take place in selected polling units across Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Oriade and Obokun local government areas.”
INEC also listed Egbedore, Ede North, Ede South and Ejigbo local government areas as the selected councils for the mock accreditation exercise in Osun West Senatorial District.
The commission urged all registered voters whose polling units were selected to participate in the exercise, stressing that only holders of valid Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) would be accredited.
“This exercise is designed to test the functionality and efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) under conditions similar to Election Day. There shall be no voting during the exercise,” the Commission stated.
INEC reaffirmed its appreciation to residents of Osun State for their continued cooperation and support throughout the electoral process.
INEC also assured political parties, the media, civil society organisations and other stakeholders of the Commission’s commitment to conducting a free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive governorship election in Osun State.
Mr Dare made the remark while criticizing Alhaji Abubakar for hiring a United States of America lobbyist with $1.2 million, in preparation for the 2027 elections.
In a statement he personally signed, Mr Dare said the former vice president can’t take Nigeria down the path of self-destruction.
The statement read in part: “Worse still, for a man who presumes to offer leadership to Africa’s most populous nation, his recent resort to grievance offshoring, outsourcing political warfare to Washington and reportedly paying $1.2 million to an American lobbying firm to peddle petitions against a sitting Nigerian President, stands as an affront to Nigeria’s sovereignty and a vote of no confidence in its democratic institutions.
“It is also a stinging slight, an implicit condescension directed at generations of Nigerian journalists, policy analysts, academics, and public intellectuals who have spent decades analysing, critiquing, and carrying the burden of the nation’s democratic evolution.
“The Atiku Abubakar of today cuts a pitiable figure, a grotesque portrait of what a politician becomes when ambition overwhelms judgment and every political faculty becomes programmed for self-destruction.
“No, Atiku cannot take Nigeria down that path with him. He must travel it alone. But first, Nigerians deserve Atiku Abubakar’s report card. Charity, they say, begins at home, not in Washington.
“Nigerians deserve to know whether the Atiku Abubakar who has long presented himself as a democrat is, in reality, a politician of many colours. He has erected for himself a throne built simultaneously on sand and bayonets. It is time to explode the bayonets.”