The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, PETROAN, have rejected plans to return fuel subsidy in Nigeria.

IPMAN spokesperson, Chinedu Ukadike, and the National President of PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, made this known in separate interviews with DAILY POST on Monday.

Ukadike and Gillis-Harry were reacting to the ongoing debate over fuel subsidy and calls by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for its reinstatement.

Ukadike said the focus should be on reviving the country’s refineries rather than returning fuel subsidy.

According to him, reviving the country’s petroleum refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna would increase competition and help reduce fuel price volatility.

He stressed that the major challenge facing the petroleum sector is not whether subsidy should be removed or restored, but the failure to fully revive critical infrastructure.

“All these things are negative. The issue before this President is the restoration of all the refineries that are working in Nigeria. The restoration and revival of all the pipelines.

“The restoration and revival of the 21 depots in Nigeria.

“Whether we remove subsidy or not does not arise because competition will calm down the price volatility and reduce prices drastically.

“Not only will it drive competition, it will also reduce the dependency of exports on dollar exchange.

“I also believe that Atiku Abubakar should also do some homework and understand that it is not bringing back subsidy that is our problem. Get the refinery to work again,” he told DAILY POST.

Ukadike maintained that restoring domestic refining capacity and other petroleum infrastructure would create a more competitive market and ultimately reduce pressure on petrol prices.

He added that increased local production would also help reduce the sector’s dependence on foreign exchange and petroleum imports.

On his part, Gillis-Harry, a petroleum sector stakeholder, said those calling for the return of fuel subsidy do not love Nigeria.

He noted that the fuel subsidy policy under previous administrations amounted to a loss of opportunity for Nigeria.

Gillis-Harry said the Federal Government previously borrowed nearly N2 trillion to fund subsidy instead of investing the money in national development and human capital.

He maintained that President Bola Tinubu was right to announce the removal of subsidy on May 29, 2023.

“The subsidy that we were operating under all the administrations was a stark loss of opportunity for the future of Nigeria.

“How? So, we were borrowing nearly N2 trillion to pay subsidy, not to develop Nigeria, not to develop human capacity, not to do anything, prior to the President’s arrival on the 29th of May, 2023. And for a man who was ready for the job, he declared that subsidy was gone. And it is gone to today,” he said.

According to him, the removal of subsidy was one of the issues discussed by presidential candidates during the 2023 election, questioning why anyone would now advocate its return.

“Now, subsidy removal was a subject of discussion by all the presidential candidates. So, if there is a reason why any one of them is thinking to say subsidy will be brought in the back, it shows that they don’t love Nigeria. They don’t love Nigeria,” he said.

Gillis-Harry also questioned the funding source for any proposal to reduce petrol prices to N500 per litre, asking whether the government would resort to borrowing to finance such a policy.

“Where is he going to get the money to reduce it to N500 per litre? So, he’s going to go back and go to China and get a loan of $1 billion,” he said.

He further questioned the rationale behind subsidising crude oil production, arguing that the cost of producing crude remains a real economic cost.

“How do you subsidise one barrel of production? Is the cost of producing one barrel of crude oil not real? It is real because, first, the people who are doing it, and the man who is talking was also vice president of this country once and was actually even in charge of those segments of the economy,” he said.

Gillis-Harry also criticised the record of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who has called for the return of subsidy, asking what was achieved during his eight years as vice president.

“So, what did he do at the time of his tenure as vice president? So, he didn’t do anything for eight years,” he said.

He urged those advocating subsidy to provide clear economic calculations on the cost of crude oil production and determine what exactly should be subsidised.

“What is the cost of producing one barrel of crude oil? And what is it that can be subsidised that will not be applied to subsidies? The people who are talking, I believe that they have economists around them that should be able to compute what the values are,” he said.

He added that subsidy removal had also encouraged Nigerians to become more financially disciplined.

“Nigerians are already not just adjusting, but disciplined. Financial discipline is sectioned among Nigerians, which is one of the most critical benefits. Social, moral benefits of the removal of subsidies,” he said.