*Say final decision is beyond them
Onyekachi Eze, Abuja
Nigerian governors have said they would engage the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other organised labour bodies on the planned removal of petroleum subsidy so that the matter could be resolved without causing disaffection.
The state chief executives, who rose from their marathon meeting at about 12:35 am on Thursday, however, said the issue of petroleum subsidy removal is entirely that of petroleum sector, since the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) last year.
Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who briefed journalists at the end of the meeting, noted that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is now a private company “and it should be the duty of the company to decide the price of its products, not the governors.”
The Ekiti State governor explained that the proposed N302 pump price of fuel was not made by the governors but at the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, arguing that it is not the issue of subnational to discuss, in view of the passage of the PIA.
The governor stated that the governors commended the Senate of the Federal Republic for accelerating the removal of the contentious clause in the Electoral Act (amendment) Bill and expressed the hope that the House of Representatives would follow suit so that the revised electoral bill would be returned to the president for his assent “so that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will commence activities for the 2023 general election immediately.”
Fayemi also said that the governors expressed happiness that the omicron variant is declining, adding that the states promised to ramp up measures to contain its spread.