Resign now, Oshiomhole!

United Action for Democracy (UAD), a pro-democracy organization, strongly calls on Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, governor of Edo state, to resign from the economic team of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua government before he is thoroughly embarrassed. (Picture shows Governor Oshiomhole)

The group which made the call during its monthly state of the nation press briefing recently, maintains that Comrade Oshiomhole cannot be part of the suicide policy to fully deregulate the downstream sector.

“That was what he (Oshiomhole) fought against with all his enemies and creativity between 1999 and 2006 as president of the Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) and joint chairman of LASCO. He should please leave the apostles to bear their cross. There are more to be done in Edo state than being rubbished by the coterie of looters. COMRADE ADAMS, PLEASE LEAVE THE YAR ‘ADUA ECONOMIC TEAM NOW!” UAD posits.

Vehemently attacking constitution of Yar’Adua’s economic team, UAD contends that the economy has, since the inauguration of the team, continued to plummet further with the foreign reserves dwindling. The group contends that ‘the naira is rapidly falling, price of goods and foodstuffs escalating, local industries collapsing, no improvement in energy supply, unemployment rising, and insecurity worsening amongst others’.

“On January 13, 2009, Yar ‘Adua raised a new economic team to assess the impact of the global economic crisis and recommend appropriate micro-economic policy responses that can further stimulate the economy. The only recipe the Yar ‘Adua team could conjure is a doomed policy to deregulate the oil industry and handover refineries to his co-looters. The regime’s beneficiaries and agents of privatization such as Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim, also, further exposed the regime as no-do-good by primitively canvassing for the printing of more Naira notes to check its devaluation”, the group asserts.

Another highlight of the briefing is the proposed deregulation of the oil sector by the federal government.

UAD, to this effect, notes that the implication of deregulation of the oil sector include worsening of the economic situation with grave consequences for bike in transport fares, price of food and services, closure of local industries and business, rise in job losses and unemployment. The organization adds that another implication of the deregulation is the deepening of the poverty level and poor standard of living for most Nigerians.

“Recent media reports on the resolve by the lame Umaru Musa Yar ‘Adua presidency to fully deregulate the downstream sector of the oil industry has once-again clearly shown that the regime is out of touch with the realities of suffering and untold hardships among majority of Nigerians. The implication of this is that subsidy would no longer apply to petroleum products and Nigerians would be at the mercy of manipulation by market forces and the giving out of our national patrimony (refineries) to local and international looters in the guise of privatization. Once this harmful policy succeeds, the economic situation will worsen with grave consequences for hike in transport fares, prices of food and services, closure of local industries and businesses; rise in job losses and unemployment; deepening of the poverty level and poor standard of living for most Nigerians”, UAD states.

The deregulation debate has thrown political pundits on parallel lines. Dr. Chukwuemeka Okwuonu, a political analyst, totally disagrees with the position of UAD. According to Okwuonu, there is no need to subsidize petroleum products in the first place. Okwuonu is of the view that interplay of free market economy should be allowed in the sector to determine the prices of petroleum products.

Dr. Okwuonu posits: “Why should petroleum products be subsidized in the first place. The market forces should be allowed to interplay in the sector to determine the prices of the products. We are only looking at the other side of it. Don’t we realize that, at times, prices of the products would be cheaper depending on the interplay of the market forces? Deregulation should not be seen from the negative perspective only”.

But to Barrister C. C. Emelogu, government should not dream of deregulation in the first place. Emelogu’s major concern is what would happen to the subsidies when they are withdrawn.

“My stomach rumbles whenever the government proposes deregulating the oil sector. This smacks of the highest level of insensitivity. What would happen to the subsidies when they are withdrawn? Is it not the same people who have milked the nation dry that would divert the funds to their private use?” Emelogu declares.

On his own part, Comrade Emeka Ogbonna slightly disagrees with the position of UAD on the issue. Ogbonna calls on civil society organizations in the country to dissipate more energy on the nagging problem of the country such as unemployment.

Says Ogbonna: “I am of the opinion that Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and other civil society groups in the country should allow the government on the deregulation issue as the government says it has monopoly of knowledge on that issue. There are other pressing issues that civil society groups should contend with such as unemployment”.

Written by: Okechukwu Keshi Ukaegbu