PMS subsidy removal: Petrol Marketers meet Tinubu, set to donate to 100 mass transit CNG buses within 30 days
Oredola Adeola
The petroleum product marketers in a solidarity meeting with President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, have announced their intention to donate between 50 to 100, 50-seater mass transit buses that would run on CNG within the next 30 days, on the sideline of the removal of the N400 Billion monthly subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol).
This was part of the major highlight of the meeting between the marketers consisting of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria(MOMAN) Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), who were led by Dapo Abiodun, Governor of Ogun State, to the State House in Abuja, on Wednesday.
Earlier, President Bola Tinubu, during the National Economic Council (NEC) led by Vice President Kashim Shettima, directed the VP to devise an approach and begin the process of working on interventions to mitigate the impact of subsidy removal on Nigerians.
President Tinubu in his address to the marketers emphasized his administration’s total commitment to a competitive, stable and transparent oil market.
He further challenged the marketers to work with his government to ensure regular supply and convenient access to fuel products across the country at the lowest possible price.
Speaking after the meeting with the President, Governor Abiodun, who was a former Chairman of DAPPMAN, said that the marketers expressed solidarity with President Tinubu for removing the N4 Trillion petrol subsidy burden, adding that the decision has the capacity to enhance the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocation to states.
Abiodun, on behalf of the marketers, urged other corporate organisations to emulate their actions by providing palliatives to cushion the impact of the removal on the poor.
MOMAN and DAPPMAN in a statement released last week, commended the President for bringing clarity to the downstream sector, which according to them signals a courageous and pragmatic shift in the nation’s economic trajectory.
The two product marketing groups had made a commitment to maintain an open dialogue with the Federal Government, by advocating for stability in the oil sector during this transitional period.
They emphasised that they are prepared to support any measures from the government that would help cushion the impact on the populace.
The meeting between the marketers and the President also came after the Organised Labour suspended their proposed nationwide withdrawal of services scheduled to begin on Wednesday following the consensus reached after the consultations with the Federal Government team and the Speaker of House of Representative, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila on Monday.
The Labour Centre, in one of the agreements with the FG, recommended the review of the $800 million World Bank Financed Cash Transfer scheme and proposed the inclusion of low-income earners in the programme.
