Let subsidy removal start from the top



President Goodluck Jonathan



PAUL ARHEWE

 Published (27/12/2011)

The huge wave of discordant divisiveness that the intended removal of fuel subsidy has garnered is unprecedented in regards to issues invoking public opinion. The tempo at which proponents and antagonists are trying to outmanoeuvre each other to attract public sympathy to their stance on the issue is really startling. The raison d’être of federal government’s oil subsidy removal thrust is to accumulate more funds for capital projects and relax the ‘pampering’ of the oil sector. While, this writer takes a neutral stance on oil subsidy removal, it is believed that most Nigerians opposing the proposed policy have lost trust on government.

The intension of saving billions of naira for other capital intensive projects to them is another phantom venture that may end up worsening the plight of the people, as huge funds may end up again to fatten the private bank accounts of few at the expense of the masses. Government expects to recoup N1.2 trillion annually if the subsidy is eventually discarded. While this is admirable, Nigerians would no doubt want to enjoy expanded social infrastructure, good healthcare facilities and many public utilities that are available to advance countries, but the fear is what percentage of these will actually go into capital projects? The mistrust of the people on government boils down to the many years of thriving corruption and lip service paying in the war against it.

While substantiating with facts why the subsidy must go, President Goodluck Jonathan had lamented in a report that Nigerian capital budget for last year, about N1.146 trillion was wholesomely run on borrowed funds and the trend is continuing in this year’s budget. While it is true that the country’s economy should not continue to run on rising deficits, the over blown cost for servicing our recurrent expenditure should really be a concern for the Nigerian government, than the full focus on subsidy removal. N2.472 trillion is budgeted for recurrent expenditure as against N1.32 trillion for capital budget for next year. Estimate shows security vote is allocated twothird of education budget and about four times what is budgeted for health. While it is true that at this turbulent times in the country security need to be bolstered, but the root cause of this insecurity is traceable to joblessness, hunger and ignorance and their likes.

The pattern of budget allocation where security vote has N921.74 billion and other critical sectors like health (N283 billion), education (N400 billion), and agriculture (79 billion) getting far less is similar to a scenario of killing a patience to treat the sickness in him. Nigerians indeed need to pay the sacrifice of freeing more capital projects fund; however the forfeiting must start from the top. Nigerian federal system of government is seen as one of the most expensive in the world due to bloating peripherals that go with every arms of government as the politics of affiliation and ‘chop-I-chop’ syndrome continues to reign supreme. Over the years we have seen diverse levels of advisers’ portfolios and aides to top government functionaries having their own aides. The above scenario amounts to great wastage of the country’s scarce resources.

Indeed the taxpayers have over the years borne the burden of ‘subsidising’ the leisure and affluent lifestyles of those few privileged administering this country. Government officials should be prepared to lead by example by shedding those excess baggage that have led to a large part of our annual budgets going for servicing recurring frivolities. For instance, last week the food budget for Aso Rock alone in the 2012 budget is pegged at approximately one billion naira. If every arms of government, ministers and parastatals allocate such huge sum for food in their official capacity what will be left for Nigeria in running its capital budget? Recently, the renowned lawyer and ex- Attorney General of the Federation Chief Richard Akinjide, in his lecture to commemorate National Mirror newspaper’s one year anniversary rightly said the lawmaking should not be a full-time job and this was the original design of the country’s constitution.

The National Assembly and the Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido, Sanusi, last year had a ruffled time when the latter boldly declare that the lawmakers’ overhead is 25.4 percent of the nation’s total budget. The executive and legislative arms of government really need to do more of the sacrifice to free more funds for capital projects. Even though government has set plans to reduce the country’s recurrent spending to about 67 percent of its budget by 2015, the removal of fuel subsidy seem to have overshadowed this. The former should be the main focus; which trickling effects will at the long run aid in the plan to remove the later on a sequential basis.