The positions of the organised labour and civil society groups are quite clear and it is that government must revert to status quo the fuel pump-price. On the other hand, government is insisting that they will go ahead with the subsidy removal. These two strong positions between labour and government have created the present impasse. As usual, when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers and it is the poor masses who are the ones caught in the cross-fire.
To put a stop to the pains already inflicted on the populace by the sharp and sudden increase in prices of every conceivable item in the marketplace as a result of the fuel subsidy removal by federal government, and also stop immediately the labour imposed stoppage of commercial activities and it attendant hardship on the citizenry.
It is in the respect that I propose a compromise plan that will redeem the impasse and meet half-way both positions by labour and government; drive down prices of goods and services to pre-January fuel subsidy removal announcement by President Goodluck Jonathan, and take the striking labour workers and civil society groups away from the streets to the board room for continuation of dialogue.
My Proposals:
1. That with immediate commencement, the federal government should instruct the NNPC to sell fuel to all commercial vehicles that are branded and registered under the national road transport workers union at the old pump price of N65.00 per litre in all NNPC Mega Stations across the country.
2. By implication, the traffic in the mega stations will increase and to curtail that, sale of fuel by the mega stations to private vehicles should seize until the proposed palliatives by government for the subsidy removal are implemented and operational.
3. Because of the anticipated congestion of the existing few NNPC Mega Stations across the country, the federal government should designate certain strategically located privately-owned filling stations in different parts of the country as NNPC Sales points which will sell only to commercial vehicles.
4. The federal government should put in place a process to check abuses and corrupt tendencies that may arise from commercial vehicle owners and filling station management by developing a database application to capture vehicle chassis numbers from the vehicle license registration particulars.
The database will also provide figures of total sales by vehicles and compute total accrued subvention for a period to be reimbursed as transport subsidy to individual NNPC Mega Station of designate outlets.
5. The petrol attendants should be equipped with smart pocket devices with which they can within a few seconds capture the vehicle chassis number before dispensing fuel. The device will alert the petrol attendant of attempts of multiple purchases by the same vehicle in any of the designated NNPC Mega Stations and designate sales points across the country.
6. The smart devices and database application must be low cost and easily manageable. If the federal government implement this proposal, by the very next day the strike will be called off and commercial activities will resume. And in another two weeks fuel will be available again at the old pump price of N65.00 per litre to commercial vehicles and life will return to normal. By so doing, the government would have effective sustained the fuel subsidy removal from the downstream sector and transfer some of it to the transport sector.
This new arrangement will remain until the proposed palliatives of new refineries and turn-around maintenance of existing ones are completed, reduction of the size of government, pay cut and review of allowances of National Assembly members, and senior government officials; introduction of low-cost fuel efficient mass transit system and invigoration of the fight against corruption.
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