@babe stella, with respect to point no. 1, I've tried to correct that impression on several threads.

It is a win win situation for us if we have fuel at N140 and our neighbors sell at N200 because, we would have converted a smuggling market to become an export market. Why the old system was bad for us is that the FG had to pay to make fuel cheap. Now we don't have to pay to make it cheap. The price differential will become a plus for us. Furthermore, it keeps us in business and helps us create jobs. The FG loses nothing and we lose nothing as a country.

I can liken it to importation of cars via cotonou. The market is there and the flow is there. The Benin Rep FG doesn't subsidize cars and the flow of cars from Benin to Nigeria benefits Benin Republic directly or indirectly. I hope u get my point?

Ah ah, these lame moves show the insincerity of Government on this matter.

Why take away my mattress and give me a mat?

I knew it! This is not a "subsidy" afterall. Read for yourself:

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=843727

It makes more sense to "debottleneck" the system than to subsidize.

@efisher

I get your point, but the major problem we have in Nigeria is that of corruption, and that is why 1. We will be left at the mercy of the fuel importers. 2. They have a choice now to move their fuel to neighbouring countries to sell thereby making the product scarce here, and when you have scarcity, the obvious happens, price increase. That is why we want corruption to be stemmed by govt who has the machinery to do that, and the  PIB passed and lets have at least 2 refinery working at full capacity, then you'll see price of fuel at an affordable price and even other good derivatives of good governance falling in place. It i snot enough to ask us to buy fuel at 140 per litre just to enable govt have enough money to execute project, Nigerians are also concerned about transparency in the pricing, awarding and execution of govt projects. In Nigeria, govt project are the most expensive in this world. In other countries for instance, an airport can be build with say 1 billion dollars, but when that same airport is to be build here  in Nigeria using our own technical team and local content, it will cost us 5 billion dollars, and when issue about inflated cost are raised, no one is punished for that.

3. Our govt are making frantic effort to make Nigerian accept their proposal, but they fail to realise that they are exposing their inefficiency, incompetence and failure to run this country aright, please they all should resign and return to their respective endeavours, that is the most honourable thing to do.

4. The people of Nigeria whom the govt says it is planning to better their lives are saying no, they want a better life if it must come this way, and our govt thinks that Nigerians are mad.? This are the same people that saw our president as a capable leader and elected him, is he now telling us we are all wrong  
Analogy: It is like going to the market to buy a tight fitted shoe for your wife, and when she wears it, it fits her but so tight that she cannot even walk from the room to the car without crying, will you insist that she continue to wear it NO, even if you insist, she will still say now, and you have to return it back to were it was bought. You don't expect her to manage it?? it simply cannot work.
Our govt have gone to buy a tight shoe for Nigeria promising that it will loosen up, we are saying NO because we cannot even wear the shoe within the house how much more wearing it out, and what we expect our govt to do is to return it from where they got it for.

They system is just terrible abeg.

@babestella, your concerns above are very very valid. The country is an undeniably terrible state. A state of "wahalaity" and "potopotoism" if I may borrow a leaf from Patrick Obahiagbon.

That said, we know all these numerous problems will take us time to solve. We have over 50 years of terrible leadership and GEJ has just 4 years to make a total transformation. It's a humongous task but I see he is making the tough decisions necessary to turn things around. I think we need to keep the pressure on him and every other elected official in order to get the best from them. But we must also give them room to do their work.

I always knew this governor was a motor-park tout.
See him announcing transport fares like an Ekenedili Chukwu ticket hawker.

I'm not so sure the ruling class knows what governance is all about.Whatever the lame duck commissioner of transport says,it is still a subsidy and the essence of Goatluck/Okonjo-Wahala/Salisu Lamido economic abracadabra of "deregulation" is to remove subsidy.Doesnt he feel that he is indirectly encouraging scarcity because the price of petrol per liter will be higher in nearby Aba,and the greedy marketer would want to take his product there and sell for profit?
These dullards in power sef

@efisher

My questions is this:

1. As against the proposed removal on 1st of April, why did GEJ and his team break the dialogue table by announcing subsidy removal on Jan 1st when discussions were still ongoing? GEJ,needs to answer because now you can see what it has resulted to.

2. 2011 budget is still in force until the end of march 2012. Can you tell me where the excess funds being made now is going. Mind you, most of the fuel being sold now were fuel that were brought in under the subsidy regime, in other words, subsidy fund have been appropriated for this fuel we are buying now and yet the price have been jacked up to 138/141 per litre. This is fraudulent and total breach of trust on the part of the government.

3. Can the govt come on air and tell us how a subsidy figure of 240 billion was jacked up to almost 1.3 trillion. What are the components of this figure. Because according to Femi Falana pointed out with facts and figure from documents issued by NNPC regarding the sharp increase in the figure, there are 2010 and 2009 areas of up 18 billion and 250 billion respectively. Then you have various components which the NNPC has admitted were irregular in the component, why can't this fraud be addressed.?

4. Based on the point in 3. we call all see that the 1.3 billion being brandished by our govt officials are just to cajole us into believing that lots of money will be saved and will be used to better the lives of Nigerians, it is total lie. What actually should be shared is 240 billion or so.

Based on this points, we can see that if corruption in the downstream sector is properly tackled, our dear government can comfortable sustain subsidy until the Petroleum industry bill PIB is passed which stipulates the proper and legitimate way to go about removing subsidy.

I am not a govt official and I am not in any labour coalition, I am just a Nigerian who cares about the ways things should be done down here. This is our country and we must demand that things be done properly and accountably too.

One of the reasons the okonjos and maduekwes are giving for the removal of subsidy is that the products are gotten cheap here in Nigeria and smuggled out to be sold at higher rates out side nigeria, the customs are there, the police, immigration, they couldnt do anything, so what makes Amaechi thinks that this product will not smuggled outside Rivers state thereby making the product scarce in Rivers. He will create task force for his boys to become millionaires over night. Clueless people.

watch AIT?

@babastella & @ekpeye,I must confess that I actually thot Amaechi was a thinking gov,though wt d average nigerian gov corrupt tendencies,but this his half brained,ill-conceived idea wt corruption written all over it has thought me otherwise.

Are we running a regional system of government? Can't we get a unified system?

kizito96:

Are we running a regional system of government? Can't we get a unified system?

help me ask dem oooo

Why is there slow response by other Governors? The Governor of Rivers State has really made a fast move in addressing the issue of transport fares in the State. Anyone who does quick response deserves praises, considering the suffering of people at the end of this festive season. Taking over logistics from marketers and the supervision of loaded trucks is a great step in the right direction. This will guarantee product availability across the State. We are okay with the 40% increase in the transport fares that he has directed. But the subsidized buses that charge the old fares must be increased. Finally the job will be finished by the adjustment of Rivers State workers salary by at least 40%, starting from this month, since market items and rent will no more come back to former levels. He will still have enough balance for the creation of 500,000 jobs from the State's share of the suspended subsidy.