Yesterday’s meeting between President Goodluck Jonathan and a group of civil society activists ended with a major setback for the president’s effort to sell his hugely unpopular plan to withdraw fuel subsidies. Our sources revealed that the activists resoundingly rejected the planned removal of fuel subsidy by the Jonathan regime.
Yesterday’s meeting between President Goodluck Jonathan and a group of civil society activists ended with a major setback for the president’s effort to sell his hugely unpopular plan to withdraw fuel subsidies. Our sources revealed that the activists resoundingly rejected the planned removal of fuel subsidy by the Jonathan regime.
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The meeting, will went into the early hours of Saturday, had been called by Jonathan after leaders of political parties declined to endorse the government’s plan on Monday. SaharaReporters had broken news about the meeting while it was still in progress yesterday.
Our sources disclosed that the government had brought high level officials in an effort “to overwhelm the group with a case for removing the subsidies.” Those in attendance on the government side include President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo, Information Minister Labaran Maku, and the Chief of Staff to the President, Mike Ogiadomhe.
The government’s team also included Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the minister for Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke, the president’s special adviser on Media, Reuben Abati, and Oronto Douglas, who serves as Mr. Jonathan's special adviser on Research.
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The activists in attendance included Femi Falana, Olisa Agbakoba, former lawmaker Uche Onyeogocha, Executive Director of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, former executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, Clement Nwankwo, Executive Director of the CLEEN Foundation, Innocent Chukwuma, former president of NANS, Nasir Kura, a female activist from the Niger Delta, Anko Briggs, and Festus Okoye.
Saharareporters sources revealed that the meeting, which lasted for more than 3 hours, started with Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala’s presentation. She told the group that those who benefit most from fuel subsidies are Nigerians who own three or more cars, claiming that those Nigerians use up 60 litters of fuel per week. But Clement Nwankwo countered her argument, describing it as simplistic. We learnt that Mrs. Iweala left the meeting for a foreign trip after taking questions from Uche Onyegeocha, Clement Nwankwo and Chidi Odinkalu. One of the activists told SaharaReporters that they cautioned Mr. Jonathan against going ahead with his policy on fuel subsidy removal. “We wanted him to be aware that there will be grave political fallout if he effects this decision,” said one of the activists.
Our sources said some of the speakers told the government team straight that the Jonathan regime appeared determined to punish underprivileged Nigerians for the widespread corruption and fraud in the fuel subsidy allocations. “What we saw was a government that lacks the muscle or will to take on its well known allies and cronies who are responsible for the fraud in the oil sector,” said one participant at the highly confidential meeting. “So the government has decided, instead, that all Nigerians should suffer for the sins of a small cabal known to the government. It is shocking that Jonathan is contemplating such a disastrous move.”
Our sources also indicated that Femi Falana made a point that Nigerian governments had a habit of swindling Nigerians with false, deceptive promises and programs. He said the key point was that Nigerians don't trust the government. Another source at the meeting told SaharaReporters, “If the government had brought the civil society groups to get back to Nigerians to convince them that the removal of fuel subsidy was necessary, then the outcome of the meeting convinced both sides that the task can't be done.”
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