The anti-fuel subsidy removal protesters, including convener of Save Nigeria Group (SNG), Pastor Tunde Bakare, ex-minister of Petroleum, Prof Tam David-West and Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum, a pan-Yoruba sociocultural organisation, are speaking at a time when feelers indicate that the government has made an offer to labour for a little downward review of the current fuel price (N141) instead of reversal to N65. The government and representatives of labour are meeting again today, in continuation of a truce meeting brokered by Senate President, David Mark, as part of effort to solve the subsidy crisis.
Speaking in Lagos yesterday, while addressing a mammoth crowd at the Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota, Bakare said the protest would continue until government reverts to N65.
“We will, by God’s grace, continue and sustain this protest until the government sees reason to revert to N65.00. No retreat, no re-think and no surrender. We are persuaded that we shall overcome because ‘the triumphing of the wicked is short and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment’ (job 20:5).”
Bakare accused the Federal Government of excessive wastage, insisting that this must be addressed before the people are asked to make sacrifices.
Listing what he considered as wastage, Bakare said that 2012 budget earmarked N13 billion for local and international travels of ministers and others in government at the federal level, while stationery, magazines, newspapers, etc would gulp N4.5 billion.
He said that the government budgeted N17 billion for maintenance of vehicles, furniture, etc; N5 billion for training; N4 billion for fuel and lubricants for cars an generators; N9 billion for welfare packages, refreshments, meals, etc; N2.5 billion acquisition of computer software and N27 billion for research and development.
The pastor said that the budgeted overhead for President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo is about N7.2 billion or about N20 million per day. He said that Jonathan and Sambo would spend N724 million or N2 million per day, on local travel, while their international travel budget is N951 million or nearly N3 million per day.
Bakare revealed: “The president’s office has N285 million to hand out as ‘welfare package,’ N265 million to buy computers, N150 million to buy scanners, N161 million for buses, N295 million for new furniture, and N1.8 billion to ‘maintain existing furniture, office and residential quarters.’”
He said that the government wants to spend N300, 000 each to buy desktops, while laptops would cost N314,000 each. According to him, scanners is budget to cost N190, 000, while the public address system in the President, VP’s office and Banquet Hall N150 million.
“There is a lot of waste, and misplaced spending priorities in the budget, which can be reviewed to free more funds to finance subsidies, capital investment and improved governance,” he said.
On his part, Prof David-West, while praising the fighting spirits of Nigerians in sustaining the strike, said there was no going back until government reverts to N65. He asked President Jonathan to resign since, according to him, the problems of Nigeria are beyond him.
David-West noted, in a telephone chat with Saturday Sun, that the government had taken Nigerians for granted believing that after two days they would abandon the strike and continued with their normal duties.
According to him, the issue has gone beyond fuel price. “We are talking about incompetence in government. There is no going back until petrol price goes back to N65. The N65 is even too much. The price should be reduced. Labour should not go back. Nigeria is protesting against bad government. Labour must not change ground or position,” he said.
Against the meeting between the labour union and the Federal Government that was deadlocked on Thursday and postponed today, David-West said the negotiation was not necessary, as more than 15 persons had died as a result of the protests. He asked
The professor advised the labour union leaders no to negotiate or shift ground. “Labour should go there but not for negotiation to shift ground. About 15 Nigerians have died during the protest. Are they going there to negotiate their blood?”
On the president’s insistence that the Federal Government was not going to yield any ground, David-West said that Jonathan is known to be stubborn but is being pushed about by some people.
He said: “Jonathan is not stubborn but some people around him are making him to be stubborn. He should resign since the ship of the state is beyond him to steer. If the government says there is no going back, then Jonathan should resign. It is not Jonathan taking the position; it is the people behind him. Jonathan is acting on the people that are behind him.
“My advice to Jonathan is that he should resign since he can’t handle the issue, likewise the finance minister, Ngozi Oknojo-Iweala too. If we have a president that is very stubborn. We should give him stubbornness.”
Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum, while speaking on the strike, asked labour not to disappoint the people, insisting that it must remain “resolute in its refusal to accept any increase on the price of petrol at 65 naira per litre.”
The group said that if labour chooses what it called “the devil’s alternative,” there would be consequences.
In a statement by Akin Malaolu, secretary general, the group said that if labour backs down Nigerians, “having seen that they have gained strength in unity, most especially against blackmail and dirty tricks by the governors and President Jonathan, would march on to achieve their resolve through continuous struggle across the nation and we shall support them all the way.”
It expressed fear that this could result into a “bloody revolt never anticipated and (may) snowball into open conflagration against political leaders, as witnessed by the four ACN senators along the Lagos/Ibadan expressway recently.”
Yoruba Ronu appealed to labour leaders and civil society groups to ensure that they carry the people along, in their course of meetings with a government, adding: “Nevertheless, setting aside the N65 per litre is not likely to douse the present tension in the country, due to extreme poverty and miseries in the land.”
Source: Sunnewsonline.com
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