Civil society  rejects Kolade-led subsidy Committee Newsdiaryonline Wed Jan 4,2012

Festus Okoye

Today ,nine civil society groups in Kaduna  asked Nigerians to reject the committee set up by the Federal Government to manage the fund that will accrue from removal of fuel subsidy.While describing it as nebulous and unconstitutional, the group regretted that the committee would only create new cabals and new avenues for corruption as well as give new visibility to those whose actions and inactions in government led Nigeria to the present sorrow state.

The groups are, Human Rights Monitor, CITAD, Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, CLEEN Foundation, Centre for Gender Rights Protection, Alliance for Credible Elections, Community Policing Partners, and Transparency in Nigeria.

In a statement, the groups said  “we urge civil society groups to reject membership of the so called re-investment committee as civil society groups and organizations cannot be part of a committee that will preside over the proceeds of a policy aimed at destabilizing Nigerian democracy and pauperizing the Nigerian people.

“Government has been and continues to be insensitive to the plight of the ordinary people of Nigeria by asking citizens who have been groaning under increased and increasing hardship to make additional and back breaking sacrifices while government officials wallow in obscene opulence and are not called upon to make similar sacrifices in the form of reduction in their salaries, allowance and other perquisites of office.

“The decision of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to remove the subsidy on petroleum products on New Year day is insensitive, callous and a declaration of war of starvation on the Nigerian people.

“It has also left the Nigerian people despondent, afraid and nervous at what the future holds for them given the irresponsibility of the political elite and their penchant for aggravated mismanagement of the Nigerian economy.

“We call on organised labour to take the lead and organise the Nigerian people to massively resist the current imposition of hardship and death on the Nigerian people.

“We also call on organised labour to resist the present bait of endless negotiations and insist that any negotiation with the government must start with the reversal of the fuel subsidy removal and a return to the status quo.

“Since the President has in the face of massive opposition gone ahead to implement a policy that he knows will lead to the destitution and death of thousands of the Nigerian people it has become urgent and imperative for us as leaders in our various organizations, representing broad spectrum of the national civil society movement, to issue this statement restating our position on the issue.

“The Nigerian economy has been in a continuous crisis for years now. This crisis is the result of a number of factors, including the poor management of the economy by the government, corruption and the unfavourable positioning of the economy in the global space.

“Rather than tackling the economic crisis in a holist manner the government has instead focused on tinkering with the economy through its fixation on the removal of fuel subsidy.

“Government has not been transparent and honest in its disclosure about the determinants, management and utilization of previous fuel subsidy funds and cannot be trusted with the management of the present one.

“The obscene amount budgeted for security in the appropriation bill is a clear manifestation of the fact that the government is bent on using public resources to fight dissent and in the process subvert the sovereign right of the people to peace and society.

“In place of subsidy removal we insist that the government can finance the budget and make life more meaningful for the Nigerian people by tapping from alternative sources such as marine transport, genuine attention to agriculture, genuine collection of taxes and revenue, awarding genuine contracts and proceeding against those that collect monies for no job done, cutting avenues of waste and keeping a lid on ostentatious living by public office holders and increased diversification of the economy.

“Repairing and reactivating the refineries while facilitating the establishment of new and efficient ones. Refocusing the anti-corruption fight to make it more effective such that leaks in public funds could be stopped and channelled to projects and programmes for which the funds are appropriated.

“Cutting to the barest minimum the obscene amount of money allocated in the Federal Budget for security and getting the States and Local Governments to do the same. Reassessing the huge amounts spent on subsidising Christian and Muslim pilgrimages and the fraud and corrupt perpetrated by a few people using such pilgrimages as a cover.

“Re-assessing the viability of some States and Local Governments and maximizing the funds used for the maintenance of states and Local Governments that cannot generate per cent of its internal revenue.

“Close down white elephant liaison offices belonging to state governments that are in Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Enugu and in other major state capitals and channel the funds to other developmental activities.

“The unilateral decision of the President to remove the subsidy on Petroleum products on New Year day and at a period when he claimed he was still consulting Nigerians is the political and social equivalent of a declaration of war on the Nigerian people.”