TCNews

From TCNEWS

Rev. Blessed Amalambu, the Southeast zone Assistant Secretary of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN has decried the ripple effects of the fuel subsidy removal on the businessses, residents and citizens of Nigeria.

Amalambu, who spoke to our correspondent in Umuahia, Abia State, said although the action taken by the newly sworn-in President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu could be described as a welcome development but the timing was absolutely wrong.

He pointed out it wouldn’t have come at this critical period when most Labour Unions across the Federation are complaining of unpaid backlog of salaries, allowances and pensions.

His words, “Everybody have been clamouring for the removal of fuel subsidy but Mr. President and his Advisers would have known that everything in life happens in stages, nothing happens so erratic and spontaneous. Many systems are disrupted, when something occurs so abruptly. Immediately after the pronouncement by Mr. President, it was gathered that all the fuel stations adjusted their pump price. Some sold a liter of fuel at N550, N650 and N750 respectively. At the black market, it was sold at N800.

“This action should have been done in phases. If the subsidy is 100 percent, 30 percent could be removed and ploughed into the revenue generated for the revival of the local refineries to increase their production capacity, thereby making the product available in phase one. Also in phase two, you remove another 30 percent, plough back the money to boost the local production of this fuel, so that by the time you completely removed the 100 percent, there is abundance and the fuel pump price will be stabilized. There is the need to be adequately prepared to cushion the effect of our policies, so that it will not be seen as wrongly applied”.

He recalled the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) which thrown its weight behind President Tinubu’s decision to remove subsidies, had in a statement by Farouk Ahmed, Authority Chief Executive, NMDPRA cautioned the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), and the Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), to avoid hoarding and keep their fuel stations open, but wondered why they are yet to be seen on the major fuel stations to implement the directives.

Amalambu, the PFN Abia State Secretary seized the opportunity to congratulate the new governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti and advised him not to fall into the hands of sycophants and praise-singers, who have the “Pull Him Down’ badge on them.

He equally advised him to not only work with the round pegs in the round holes, square pegs in the square holes but strive to ameliorate the pains of the Small business owners, who were levied with heavy taxations by the immediate past administration, which crippled and buried most of the promising businesses in the state and put most homes in a sorry state.