- Olusola Fabiyi -
PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan on Monday said the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment programme promised by his administration was no longer realistic.
The President said SURE was hurriedly conceptualised in January on the heels of the nationwide protest against the removal of the fuel subsidy. Jonathan added that the implementation was no longer feasible since the zero-subsidy policy planned by his administration was not being implemented.
Jonathan spoke at the 58th National Executive Committee meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party where he ordered his party men to retrieve copies of a SURE publication that had been advertised.
The PDP members had distributed the publication to attendees at the meeting, but on sighting the document the President expressed surprise and ordered that it should be withdrawn.
The President said, “As I came in, I saw this SURE book being distributed, we are withdrawing it. This is the old one. We developed this with the expectation that we were going to completely deregulate the downstream sector of the oil industry, (after) the 100 per cent removal of subsidy.
“You know we could not achieve that though there was an increase in the pump price. I don’t want this thing to be distributed; it will give a wrong impression.
“We are working on a new document based on the reality, but we don’t want to promise what we will not achieve. Those who have it please withdraw it, we cannot realise the money that is stated therein, but we will still come up with a document based on what we get.”
Curiously, Jonathan had inaugurated a board for the implementation of the SURE programme barely a week ago, on February 13. The board is headed by a former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr. Christopher Kolade.
Critics of the government and opposition parties had earlier predicted that the government could not be trusted to implement SURE which some of the critics had described as a “fraud”.
In the SURE document, which was distributed on Monday, government has put the total subsidy reinvestible funds at N1.134tn based on an average of $90 per barrel of crude oil.
According to the document, out of the total, N478.49bn would accrue to the Federal Government, while state governments and local governments would get N411.03bn and N203.23bn respectively.
The document adds that N9.86bn would go to the Federal Capital Territory while N31.37bn would be transferred to the Derivation and Ecology, Development of Natural Resources and Stabilisation Fund.
Among the items the Federal Government promised to spend money on were the construction of the East–West Road; construction of some roads and bridges in the six geo-political zones of the country; and the completion of rail routes.
The government also listed some of the irrigation projects it planned to embark on, promising that the revitalisation of the irrigation projects would increase the local production of rice by over 400,000 tonnes per year.
The withdrawn document further adds that government will contribute to the power sector reforms by improving generation capacity through hydro and coal power plants.
“The current subsidy regime in which fixed price is maintained irrespective of market realities has resulted in huge unsustainable subsidy burden,” the document says.
The government had on January 1, 2012 announced a total removal of subsidy on petrol but the consequent jump in the pump price of the product from N65 per litre to N141 had attracted nationwide protests and a strike action championed by organised labour and civil society groups.
Following a week of paralysis in the socio-economic sector, the government on January 16 agreed to revert the price of petroleum to N97 per litre.
The Federal Government, however, on February 15 proposed additional N656.3bn to the 2012 budget to cater for its subsidy on petrol.
Jonathan’s coordinating minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had in a statement explained that the 2012 Fiscal Framework earlier submitted to the National Assembly assumed 100 per cent subsidy removal and that only N155bn was provided for the carry-over of 2011 subsidy payments.
This can only happen in Africa. So Jonathan (aka) I AM NOT SURE. deceived Nigerians by making false promise just to get them off the streets and prevent his downfall.
Now the people will feel betrayed. This time he would not be able to quench the fire next time.
@Franklin. You are dead wrong that the caption of this story is misleading or whatever. I have read the story elsewhere to see whether this reporter slanted as you alleged and I found that in truth Jonathan said what this reporter captioned. In reportage, you will not expect everything he said to be in the caption. The important thing is that one thing he said is captured in the caption and the other things he said to mellow down are also written in the main body of the report. What do you make of him withdrawing the SURE document that has the only plan we know now of the subsidy palliatives. So, until he produces another plan, Nigerians just have to take it that he can no longer deliver on the palliatives as he bemoaned. It’s the other reporters that tried to slant their headline to favour the President. This reporter captioned the best essence of the Presidents candid admissions/revelations and i thank the president for his sincerity. So, my man Franklin, you are the one trying to slant or explain the story. Thanks anyways for being very articulate about your views.
@Efosa Igbinoba; “Their eyes are wide open, but they will never see; their ears are wide open, but they refuse to hear; they must be brain dead, (MEAT HEAD); so said Jesus Christ. A mind is a terrible thing to waste, you just lost yours to UN_REALITIES. We have almost ONE TRILLION NAIRA earmarked for the Police, Army, Navy, and the Airforce for the SECURITIES of this Nation, why 921 BILLION NAIRA for Jonathan alone.
We should disregard this government. Jonathan is confused as to lead this nation, he is not capable to rule this country and never to be trusted. We should sent him parking!!!
Don’t you guys know that oil subsidy is tied to oil block that the Cabals took over after the war. Writing laws that lock Nigeria in their selling and buying oil blocks to Europeans who has no care for Nigeria. They have to make their money before subsidy. Go and research the evolution of subsidy. NO TO THE CABALS WHO TOOK HOSTAGE THE MASSES OF MIDDLE CLASS NIGERIAN. GEJ continues to do a good job.
I perfectly understand that the president’s handlers are in much a better position to handle reports like this. However, ordinary readers like us have the right to react as well. With due respect, the caption of this story is extremely misleading and appears premeditated to suit a preconceived position even if that might not be the intentions of the reporter. Reading through the body of the story, one comes away with the impression of a rush to judgment on the part of the reporter as evidenced in the caption of the report. The caption is unnecessarily alarming. The report says Jonathan said quite categorically that, “We are working on a new document based on the reality,” which reflects the reality of the failure to achieve full deregulation and complete removal of the subsidy.
Now, if a document was based on total removal of the oil subsidy, which could not be achieved due to resistance from civil society, it is only natural and commonsensical that such a document would be reviewed to bring it in line with present realities. It would be fool-hardy and delusional for the government to implement all the provisions of a document that were based on full deregulation that did not pan out as expected. The government can only bite what it can chew and no more. What part of that is rocket science?
Therefore, to state that somehow such a review amounts to abandoning the promised palliatives is downright dishonest and unwarranted misrepresentation of the president’s position. Review of the palliatives to bring them in line with available funds realized from reduction of the subsidy does not and cannot in anyway, shape or form amount to abandoning the promised palliatives as the caption tends to misrepresent to the reading public. And the fact that the Jonathan administration had gone ahead to inaugurate the palliatives committee proves conclusively that he has not abandoned the palliatives. Since when has a review or amendment of a promise amount to abandonment? The report caption does no credit to the body of the report. If anything it does violence to the body of the report. The reporter should understand that the report would be read by intelligent people who would reach their own conclusions. It is not in his position to help readers reach their own conclusions. Sorry, this is in bad taste.
What is Ebele Jonathan talking about; that he could no longer deliver on “SUBSIDY PALLIATIES”. Ironic to say, 921 BILLION NAIRA Presidential Security Subsidy Vote was allocated to Jonathan to dispose at will; just for this year 2012. This is IN YOUR FACE FASCIST ROBBERY; For God’s sake, what will Jonathan do with this amount: (N921 X 1000 X 1000000) while 93.9 percent of the population languishes in abject poverty. Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan and his dysfunctional Economic team are TERRORISING this country; it’s high time we Nigerians rose against these tyrants by any means neccessary. Jonathan will no longer be president again, but he’s willing to part away with as much TRILLION he can lay his hands on with the help of his economic cronies; Jonathan together with Ngozi Okonji_Iweala intended to borrow 7.24 BILLION DOLLARS from Islamic (Jaiz)Bank, India,cum IMF/World Bank meant for “GHOST PROJECTS”. Laying grounds for partaway loots, believe it or not my people.
the security budget is not for the security of the president it is for the security of the whole nation, and correct me if i am wrong but I think it is much needed.
So according to you it is the president who is terrorising Nigerians, while boko haram has killed more than 300 people this year you do not see them as terrorists, but the president is a terrorist to you.
You are complaining about the security budget, the same budget used to destroy boko haram, which leads me to this conclusion: you are a boko haram terrorist by faith and maybe also by action.