By John Alechenu
ABUJA — Civil Society Organisations have backed the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over its allegations of collusion between the Federal Government and petroleum marketers, insisting that Nigerians deserve greater transparency and fairer pricing in the downstream oil sector.
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) accused the government of paying more attention to protecting business interests in the petroleum sector than addressing the hardship faced by citizens.
National Coordinator of HURIWA, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, stated this in a telephone interview with Vanguard in Abuja on Thursday.
Onwubiko said Nigerians were bearing the brunt of what he described as the government’s “disproportionate interest” in the interests of oil businesses.
“The NLC is spot on. How can you explain why the only oil refinery in Nigeria and those who import petroleum products are selling at almost the same price?” he asked.
“This doesn’t make sense. Something is deeply wrong and the excuse that it is a free market is not adding up. The prices are supposed to be competitive and Nigerians ought to enjoy lower prices if things were done properly.”
The NLC had earlier accused the Federal Government and oil marketers of conspiring against Nigerians, arguing that increased local refining capacity should have translated into lower petrol prices.
HURIWA said Nigerians would continue to bear the burden of high fuel prices unless the government demonstrated greater commitment to transparency and fair competition in the downstream sector.
Also speaking, Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, aligned with the NLC’s position.
Rafsanjani said the primary responsibility of government was to protect the welfare and security of citizens, stressing that public policies should be designed to serve those objectives.
He said the government’s handling of fuel pricing since the removal of subsidies and deregulation of the energy sector had failed to convince Nigerians that the market was operating transparently.
“Since government announced the removal of fuel subsidies and the deregulation of the energy sector, government has not given Nigerians cause to believe that it is not involved in the pricing of the commodity,” he said.
Rafsanjani said the multiplicity of regulatory agencies in the petroleum sector had not translated into adequate protection for consumers.
“There are several regulatory agencies in the sector but they appear to be more interested in protecting the cabal that has over the years made huge profits from importing finished products instead of refining our crude,” he alleged.
He said the situation had subjected Nigerians to what he described as unpredictable and excessive fuel prices.
“This has created a situation where Nigerians are forced to pay through their noses to get products. It is sold for one price in the morning and a higher rate in the afternoon and evening. We cannot continue like this,” Rafsanjani said.
The post CSOs back NLC, demand transparency in fuel pricing appeared first on Vanguard News.