JointAction Front (JAF)
10, Afolabi Lesi Street, Anthony-Ilupeju, Lagos
08035068524, 08033347962, E-mail: jnt_action@yahoo.co.uk
Being the Press Conference addressed by JAF held in Lagos on November 23rd2011
Comradecompatriots in the media, the Joint Action Front (JAF) - the pro-labour civil society partner in the Labour and Civil SocietyCoalition (LASCO) welcomes you to this press conference, which is to addresstwo critical issues that are germane to the future of our country. The issuesare:
1. The Federal Government’s Desperation to increase prices of petroleumproducts; and
2. The forcefultake-over of PHCN facilities and its implication for constitutional rule in ourcountry.
1. The FG’s Desperation to increase prices of petroleumproducts: We in the Joint Action Front (JAF) which, untilOctober 9th 2011 when its 2nd National DelegatesConference changed its name from Joint Action Forum, have once again deemed itnecessary to take up the challenge of organising with our Labour partner(Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress) in the Labour and CivilSociety Coalition (LASCO) to mobilise Nigerians to reject the desperation by the Government of Goodluck Jonathan to impose another round of wicked punitive increases in the pricesof petroleum products (petrol, kerosene, diesel, aviation fuel, low pour fueloil (LPFO), etc. We should recall several struggles in the past 10 years led byJAF and its labour partners in LASCO to reverse the perennial price increasesin fuel, the last of which was the STRIKE/MASSPROTEST from June 20 – 24, 2007, which Nigerians actively supported, and whichcompelled the Yar’Adua government to reverse prices fromN75 a litre for petrol, first to N70, and later to N65, which has remained thecurrent price.
1.1 FUEL SUBSIDY IS FRAUD! REJECT IT: As far as we in JAF are concerned, there is nothinglike fuel subsidy. The recycled argumentbeing canvassedby Government and its rented spoke-persons that only a cabal of profiteers benefit from thesubsidy clearly exposed it as irresponsible and anti-poor if, with all the apparatuses of power atits disposal,the Jonathan Presidency cannotdeal with the profiteers and private sharks that are looting funds in the name of subsidy,then we must protect ourselves.
Another reason theanti-poor Government of Jonathan has given is that the removal of ‘fuelsubsidy’ is to block wastage of resources. If we may ask: why has Governmentnever prosecuted anybody involved in the mismanagement of theturn-around-maintenance of the refineries? At least over $231.6 million waswasted by the Obasanjo government on this! The answer is simple. It is becausethose in Government and the so-called cabals are the same looters; so theycannot prosecute themselves for bleeding the country dry through naked looting. Instead, they want to impose price increases to make lifeunbearable to the working people and poor masses.
Indeed, the Senate Probeinto Privatization of public enterprises has exposed the policies ofPRIVATISATION and DEREGULATION as FRAUD used to strip the country of itsnational assets such as Ajaokuta, Daily Times, NITEL, Nigeria Airways, NigeriaPort Authority, etc, to pave way for corrupt enrichment of the few Government officialsand political jobbers while the majority working people languish in poverty,deprivation, joblessness, and lack of access to basic education, housing,affordable and effective transportation, healthand social welfare.Even David Mark, the Senate President admitted: “One of the sources of public debt ispublic private partnership”. “They look attractive on the surface but if facedwith challenges it becomes a debt on government” (Next, November 14, 2010).
JAF daresto ask: if the Jonathan presidency istruly sincere about saving leakages in public funds, why should it not halt thepublic private partnership that has largely benefited the private sector and not the poormasses (e.g. oil subsidy)? But we know why they will not. We are being pushedinto the belly of the imperial shark. The sharks are the IMF and the WorldBank, which the rulers of Nigeria serve. We are not surprised that everydaysome big shot from the European Union, the IMF, the World Bank, and theiragents in Nigeria, keep telling us why we must succumb to theology of fuelsubsidy. We must not allow them to succeed.
1.2 WHY NIGERIANS SHOULDNOT PAY MORE FOR FUEL? In spite ofhuge oil revenue, particularly since 1999 which has been the longest run of oilwindfall in the history of Nigeria, successive regimes (Obasanjo-YarAdua-Jonathan) have failed to build new refineries and deliberately renderedthe existing ones inefficient and under-functional. Nigeria has the notorious record ofbeing the only petroleum producing country that cannot meet the fuel demands ofits citizens.
Thoughwe have four refineries, they are so poorly maintained that their total andcombined production guarantee less than 20 percent of fuels needed for domesticconsumption. This is more disturbing given the fact that Nigeria, which is theworld’s 6th largest exporter of crude oil, produces the best brand of crudethat is the easiest to refine. With adequate and functional refineries, therewould not have been the floated gimmick of so-called huge oil subsidy, which isfraudulently paid to the importers of fuel. With functional refineries, Nigeria can provide adequatesupply of petrol, diesel, kerosene, gas, aviation fuel, low pour fuel oil (LPFOused in Manufacturing industries), etc, at cheap prices. We will also be ableto generate additional revenue through export of refined fuel products andpetrochemical derivatives.
Butwe pay more for fuel because the system of neo-liberal capitalism adopted bysuccessive regimes encourages the ruling cabals to make the country import-dependent on fuel andthereby cause the country huge losses of revenue. The priceincreases which willbe imposed any moment from now and which could be as high as N150per a litre of petrol, if we do not resolutely resist it, definitely affectthe living conditions ofthe working masses and compound our hardships. We must therefore be prepared todo everything within our capacity to REJECT it.
1.3 CAN PRIVATEINVESTORS MAKE A DIFFERENCE? Government has said the privateinvestors are the solution to the crisis in the oil sector, and that if theso-called oil subsidy is removed, private investors will build new refineriesand with competition, fuel prices, even if goes up initially, will soon come down. This is a blatantlie. JAF wishes toinform Nigerians that since 2002, more than 20 licenses were issued to privateinvestors to build refineries. None till date has laid even the foundation, letalone build the facilities. Why? The usual government’s arguments that private investors could notcome in because the oil industry is not deregulated – in other words, there isoil subsidy that should be removed.
The fact is that the theso-called private investors willnot invest in long-term, capital intensive projects like refineries, but ratherprefer quick and speculative businesses with super profit like importation ofoil. They are the same ruling cabals and cronies that got licenses to buildrefineries and at the same time the profiteers who import refined fuel productsand loot the so-called fuel subsidy.Nigerians must ask: why did a group ofprivate profiteers including Obasanjo’s Transcorps, Aliko Dangote and FemiOtedola under the auspices of Bluestars buy the Kaduna Refinery a few days to the end of Obasanjo regimein 2007 even when the oil industry was not deregulated? The reason was that the refinerywas sold to Bluestars at a give-away price so that with little capital theywould have made quick and super profit. But for the struggle ofLASCO on June 20 24, 2007 earlier referred to, that reversed the rotten sale of the Kaduna Refineryand other public assets,this band of looters wouldhave taken over the ownership of the 4 refineries with the singular intentionto make super profit without producing a litre of fuel.
The overwhelming majority Nigerians have painfully learnt over the yearsthat Government’s argument is not only callous, it is baseless and a blatantattack on the already impoverished Nigerian masses, what Nigerians lack and whichmust be built with urgency is a trusted, determined and highly courageousleadership and that is what JAF in alliance with the Labour Leadership hascommenced and we therefore, enjoin Nigerians to join forces with us in thestruggle for the social transformation of our country.
2. Theforceful take-over of PHCN facilities and its implication for constitutionalrule in the country:Justlast week, precisely Monday, November 14th, 2011 the Governmentordered the forceful take-over of PHCN facilities across the country in theguise of “security cover”. What Nigerians should know is that the massive militaryoccupation of the PHCN facilities went beyond the routine security brief ofarmed personnel that have maintained security vigilance over the years onpublic properties beyond that of the PHCN.
What actuallyhappened was that the Jonathan Presidency in a fascist manner used the deployedtroops to convey foreign profiteers and Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE)officials to undertake the inventory of the facilities, in view of its plot toillegally transfer these undervalued public assets to their cronies ofprofiteers, so-called private investors.
JAF deplores thisunwarranted military occupation, which has been characterized by themaltreatment of workers and security harassment of its leadership across thecountry, instead of Government implementing the payment of the 50 per centsalary increment due to the PHCN workers since June.
We demand theunconditional and immediate withdrawal of the military occupiers from the PHCNfacilities.
Equally, JAF demandsthat Government and the management of the PHCN should respect the collectiveagreements reached with the workers in the electricity sector by ensuring theimmediate implementation of the 50% salary increment as a condition for the restorationof industrial harmony in the electricity sector.
We totally rejectthe planned privatisation of PHCN. Our position on the Power Sector is that the PHCNcan be efficient if it is democratically run with the involvement of electedrepresentatives of workers and consumers in the management of electricity. Thisis the only way that the public resources invested in the sector can translateinto qualitative improvement in power generation, adequate supply andaffordability.
JAF CALL TO ACTION
Nigerians must begin preparation forprotracted mass actions as the government is hell-bent on going ahead with the proposed increasesin fuel prices, and the privatisation of the electricity sector. JAF thereforecalls on Nigerians to formAction Committees in the communities,workplaces, schools, town unions, religious places and other constituencies tojoin forces with the Labour movement to RESIST and DEFEAT all anti-poor policies.
Also, Nigerians should prepare for aprotracted struggle to end these regimes of corrupt politicians and looters andreplace them with a Government of the working people and the poor who MUST usethe oil wealth and the resource endowment of the country to benefit and betterthe lives of ALL.
JOIN FORCES WITH JAFTODAY TO:
1. Reject Deregulation and Hike in Prices of Fuel
2. REJECT AND RESIST the privatisation of theelectricity sector.
3. DemandPublic Trial of all public and private profiteers and dealers involved in thelooting of oil subsidy, repairs of refineries as well as other corruptatrocities in the privatisation of public enterprises.
4. Demand thatthe books of the oil industry be made OPEN to the Trade Unions and Workingpeople organizations for Public Inquisition.
5. Insist onPublic Massive investment in the building of refineries and overhauling of thefacilities and infrastructures for haulage of fuel
6. Struggle toEnd the Privatization and Deregulation policies.
7. Call on NLCand TUC to disown their membership of the National Council of Privatization(NCP) and Stay out of it Now!
8. Demand thatthe oil sector and the NNPC should be placed under public ownership andmanagement and democratic control of the working people, consumers and localexperts.
9. Organiseand Mobilise for a Working People political party that must put in political powera Government that will end the era of looting and exploitation by the corruptcapitalist ruling cabals and ensure that the wealth of the country is judiciously applied to benefit the majorityworking population (formal and informal sectors) and the poor.
DR. DIPO FASHINA
JAF Chairperson
Comrade ABIODUN AREMU
JAF Secretary
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