Following the United States/Israel and Iran war, which disrupted crude and refined product flows, the National President of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers, Bayo Olanrewaju-Alo, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently prioritise diesel price relief for productive sectors. Addressing journalists at the University of Lagos recently, he noted that diesel powers transportation, food distribution, manufacturing, telecoms infrastructure, hospitals and small and medium enterprises.
Call for Targeted Relief
To this end, Olanrewaju-Alo suggested that the government should enact strong regulations to provide targeted relief for registered mass transit operators, food logistic providers and strategic productive sectors to reduce inflationary pressures. He also stressed the need for the government to adopt temporary, transparent and targeted measures aimed at cushioning the effects of the price hike for citizens.
Strategic Intervention Needed
According to him, the present fuel price shock requires disciplined and strategic intervention, rather than a return to fiscally unsustainable blanket subsidy. Speaking further, he noted that temporary and targeted relief measures are justified to prevent the fuel price shock from cascading into food inflation, transport paralysis, business closures and deeper poverty.
Shared Sacrifice and Fiscal Discipline
At the same time, he suggested that the government must demonstrate shared sacrifice by aggressively reducing wasteful public expenditures and redirecting scarce resources toward interventions that directly improve the welfare and economic resilience of Nigerians. His suggestions include waiving non-essential levies and charges on petroleum products; creating a fuel stabilisation window; stabilising aviation fuel supply; ensuring transparency in domestic fuel supply and pricing; maintaining import flexibility and price control to prevent scarcity; and expanding mass transit support.
