IS GOODLUCK STILL CONSIDERING REMOVAL OF FUEL SUBSIDIES? : Court Stops Deregulation Policy, Says it’s Unconstitutional ... THISDAYLIVE

President Goodluck Jonathan

•FG still considering removal of petrol subsidy  

Kunle Aderinokun, Obinna Chima and Ejiofor Alike,  and Tobi Soniyi   with agency report

Justice Adamu Bello of the Federal High Court, Abuja has declared the deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry as unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.

Despite the ruling, President Goodluck Jonathan said Tuesday that the Federal Government was still planning to withdraw the subsidy on petrol after holding consultations with Nigerians on the best way to go about it.

Delivering judgment in a case filed by a Lagos lawyer, Mr, Bamidele Aturu, against the Minister of Petroleum Resources and the Attorney General of the Federation yesterday, Justice Bello issued an order restraining the Federal Government from deregulating the downstream sector of the petroleum industry or from failing to fix the prices of petroleum products as mandatorily required by the Petroleum Act and the Price Control Act.

The judge held that the policy of government to deregulate the downstream sector of the petroleum industry by not fixing the prices at which petroleum products might be sold in Nigeria was unlawful.

The court further held that the deregulation policy was in conflict with Section 16(1)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 which provides that the government should control the national economy in such a manner as to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity.

The court also ruled that the policy of government to deregulate the downstream sector of the petroleum industry by not fixing the prices at which petroleum products should be sold in Nigeria was unlawful, illegal, null, void and of no effect whatsoever being in vicious violation of the mandatory provision of Section 6 of the Petroleum Act, cap P.10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

Justice Bello declared:  “That the policy decision of the defendants to deregulate the downstream sector of the petroleum industry by not fixing the prices at which petroleum products may be sold in Nigeria is unlawful, illegal, null, void and of no effect whatsoever, being in flagrant violation of the mandatory provision of Section 4 of the Price Control Act, cap P28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”

The court also held that the Federal Government's policy to deregulate the downstream sector of the petroleum industry by not fixing the prices at which petroleum products may be sold in Nigeria had the effect of making the freedom of movement guaranteed in Section 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 illusory for the plaintiff and the generality of Nigerians and was therefore illegal, unconscionable and unconstitutional and of no effect whatsoever.

He ordered the government to fix and publish regularly prices of petroleum products forthwith.
Reacting to the judgment, Aturu thanked Justice Bello “for his unparalleled erudition and sound logic and the Nigerian people for having confidence in the rule of law.

“The judge has done his own bit. It is now left for Nigerians to be alert to challenge any wicked increase in the prices of petroleum products. May God truly bless Nigeria.”

Unmindful of the ruling, Jonathan yesterday said that the Federal Government was still planning to withdraw the subsidy on petrol after holding discussions with the public on the easiest way to do it.

Speaking at The Economist’s magazine annual Nigerian summit, which held in Lagos, the financial newswire service, Bloomberg, quoted him as saying: “We cannot continue to waste resources meant for a greater number of Nigerians to subsidise the affluent middle class, who are the main beneficiaries.”

The Federal Government on January 1, 2012, had deregulated the price of petrol, but the policy was resisted by the generality of the public culminating in a week-long strike, which forced the government to reverse the policy on full deregulation of the downstream oil sector.

Since the incident, the official price of petrol has been fixed at N97.00 per litre while that of kerosene was pegged at N50.00 per litre.

In her contribution during The Economist summit, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, said that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which is before the National Assembly, would actually reduce the powers of the minister.

In an apparent reaction to accusations made by members of the National Assembly that the proposed legislation would confer too much power on the minister, Alison-Madueke said the reform bill would require at least 80 regulations to ensure that the complexity of the legislation is properly delineated for smooth implementation.

Besides, she stated that the controversial Petroleum Host Community Fund (PHCF) contained in the PIB was not meant for only the oil-producing Niger Delta but also other communities hosting crude oil and petroleum products pipelines across the country.

Alison-Madueke disclosed that contrary to the impression being created that the PIB confers enormous powers on the minister, the reform bill has actually reduced the powers of the minister.

According to her, “There is no other bill or Act that gives as much powers to the Ministry of Petroleum or Minister of Petroleum as the current Petroleum Act.

“Now, in the PIB, we have tried to reduce to a lesser extent, the powers that are inherent in the minister by the simple act of unbundling the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) itself, creating a National Oil Company (NOC), National Gas Company and asset management company that are all independent – by creating two pseudo regulatory entities, which is not the case at all.

“The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) today, actually report directly to the Minister of Petroleum Resources.

“I think it has been a very courageous act of Mr. President to have allowed us to have gone to this extent because it has never happened before. But I think it is for the best.”

She said the PIB should not be implemented in a manner that would disrupt oil and gas operations or reduce the government’s take, adding that both the operators and government should enjoy the benefits.
The minister, who further disclosed that all the various stakeholders would only derive maximum benefits from the PIB if it is properly implemented and delineated, however, stressed that the country would have to develop at least 80 regulations that would provide models for the implementation of the PIB.

She pointed out that regulations would also be developed for the implementation of the PHCF and the Frontier Exploration Agency.
“We need at least 80 regulations to ensure that the complexity and quantum of this new Act is properly delineated,” she stated.

The minister, who did not give the time when the bill would be passed, expressed optimism that the bill would soon be passed into law, having scaled through the second reading in both houses of the National Assembly.

Also speaking at the summit, the former president of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula stressed that it was Africa that had supported the growth achieved by his country.

He predicted that Africa would not waste its chance to prosper in the 21st century, suggesting that Western dominance would likely fade, reported the AFP.

Recounting what are considered his major successes in boosting prosperity in Brazil through his 2003 to 2010 tenure, Lula said he felt compelled to share lessons with African leaders.

“We are indebted to Africa,” he told business and political leaders at the summit, noting the historic ties between Africa and Brazil, including the millions of Brazilians of African descent.

He described the African continent as experiencing “a historic moment, with democracies being consolidated,” in most states.

“The 19th century and the 20th century were the century for the Europeans and the US, and the end of the 20th century was for China, but the 21st century will not be wasted by Africa and neither by South America,” he said through a translator.