Page 6 - DMEA Week 04 2022

DMEA COMMENTARY DMEA

Nigeria puts PIA on hold

Following tumult over the elimination of gasoline price subsidies, the Buhari

administration delays full implementation of the country’s new petroleum law.

AFRICA ACCORDING to the provisions of the Petro- January 25, Minister of State for Petroleum
leum Industry Act (PIA), Nigeria’s federal gov- Resources Timipre Sylva told reporters that the
ernment is legally obligated to eliminate the Buhari administration intended to propose an
WHAT: gasoline subsidy that has long kept domestic 18-month extension of the term for implemen-
Nigeria’s federal gasoline prices far below market level within six tation of the PIA, pushing the start date back to
government is months of the law’s adoption. August 2023. The government will reach out to
proposing an 18-month That six-month deadline was due to fall next the National Assembly on this front soon, he
postponement for full month, in February, and officials in Abuja began said.
implementation of the dropping strong hints last week that the admin-
new oil and gas law. istration of President Muhammadu Buhari was Protests called off
looking for a way to defer its duty. Senate Presi- The Buhari administration’s decision seems to
WHY: dent Ahmad Lawan took the lead on this front, have drawn a positive reaction in the short term.
The suggestion comes in emerging from a meeting with Buhari on Janu- More specifically, it convinced the country’s
the wake of threatened ary 18 to say he had conveyed voters’ concerns labour unions not to proceed with demonstra-
protests over the pending about the potential economic impact of a sudden tions and strikes. The Nigeria Labour Congress
removal of domestic rise in gasoline prices to the president. (NLC), for instance, said on January 25 that its
gasoline price supports. According to Lawan, these statements struck National Executive Council (NEC) had decided
a chord with Buhari. “I’m happy to inform Nige- to cancel nationwide demonstrations scheduled
WHAT NEXT: rians that Mr. President never told anyone that for January 27 and February 2 and had informed
The postponement could the petroleum subsidy should be removed,” he all of its affiliated union and partner civil society
bolster the fortunes declared. organisations (CSOs) of these cancellations.
of Buhari’s political The Senate leader went on to say that he did Ayuba Wabba, NLC’s president, made an
party ahead of the next not want to see ordinary citizens bear the finan- official announcement to this effect on the same
presidential election. cial burden of a policy change, but stopped short day. “The leadership of the Congress has com-
of making any explicit statements about what municated this organ decision to our civil society
Abuja might do next beyond allocating addi- allies, who have stood stoically behind Nigerian
tional budget funds to ensure that the subsidy workers in our quest for social and economic
continues to be paid for the remainder of 2022. justice for workers and the downtrodden people
Earlier this week, though, the federal govern- of our country,” he was quoted as saying by the
ment made its intentions clear. Daily Trust.
Following a meeting with Buhari on “Going forward, we will continue to engage

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