By Dwelleth Morountodun
The Director of Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organization (MBCO), Mr. Festuss Keyamo SAN, has said the promise
by the Peoples Democratic Party flagbearer, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to crash the pump price of fuel from N145 to N97 is another attempt to return the Nigeria to full blown subsidy scams if elected president in the forthcoming election.
In a statement made available to SHARPEDGENEWSOnline, Keyamo said there is no better evidence of desperation and phantom promises by the main opposition’s candidate than this statement of crashing the fuel pump price.
At today’s international price of gasoline, Keyamo said, no supplier will ever contemplate any scheme that will deliver products at such ridiculous price, explaining that those in the sector reading this must be having a good laugh at the opposition.
According to him, a simple check at the international prices will show that even at the world market where gasoline is procured, it will cost not less than N158 to procure a litre of crude oil.
When you add the cost of refining, plus freight, finance and port charges (premium), there is no magic that one would employ to supply the finished product at N145 a litre. Presently, the landing cost of the product in Nigeria hovers around N205 per litre, Keyamo added.
Keyamo said: “The claim by Atiku is opportunism of the highest order. Nigerians are aware that higher crude oil prices will translate to higher government revenues and a prudent administration will convert the resources to the benefit of the common man.
“This is exactly what Buhari has done since he mounted the saddle in 2015. The President has worked out a transparent system whereby the whole subsidy regime and scam has been totally eliminated. There is no cash incentive or payment again to middlemen.”
According to him, the system under the past government was that independent marketers and all sort of persons were allowed to import petroleum products on their own, declare non-existent volumes of these products and get paid for these non-existent volumes.
In addition, government would then pay them cash for the “loses” (subsidy) in selling at fixed market price. Under this old system, more than N3 trillion was lost.
President Buhari, Keyamo said was also not prepared to go back to the subsidy regime, therefore the President stopped the scam of overblown volumes and subsidy payments to middlemen.
Keyamo said: “Under Buhari’s regime when it was subjected to competitive bidding, the highest the government got was $7 per metric ton as cost of logistics to bring in products. More than N3billion has been saved by this bidding process.
“Having gotten the value of the crude oil back in terms of finished products, NNPC will now sell at government controlled price which is far lower than the landing cost.
“Presently, the landing cost is around N205 per litre, but government sells at N145 per litre.
“Therefore, government just records a loss in NNPC instead of paying cash to middlemen. That loss it suffers is fully reflected when NNPC pays money into the federation account.”
The Buhari campaign spokesperson, said it has become necessary for Nigerians to interrogate Atiku further in order for him to lay bare before the Nigerian people the so-called “template” he has developed to crash the price. This is not a game of tricks or hide-and-seek. He must come clean.
“Nigerians await the details of the transparent system Atiku intends to adopt that would eliminate fraudulent cash payments to middlemen and make the product available at all times.” He said.