Ayodele
Omojuwa
University
of Lagos, Nigeria
Abstract
"The
Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency wishes to inform all stakeholders
of the commencement of the formal removal of the subsidy on Premium Motor
Spirit, Petroleum products marketers are to note that no one will be paid a
subsidy on PMS discharges after 1st January 2012," said the statement
signed by PPPRA executive director Reginald Stanley. The tempo of activities
within the polity became overtly charged immediately after the announcement of
the removal of fuel subsidy on January 1, 2012 by the Petroleum Products
Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA). This indeed, came as a shock to most
Nigerians as they were not prepared for the sudden change. Labour and transport
unions, human rights groups, market women, taxi drivers and lawyers'
associations have been bitterly opposed to having the subsidy removed. That led
to the announcement of a nationwide strike by the organized Labour, comprising
the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) starting from January 9. That strike
successfully grounded economic activities around the country for one whole
week, with Nigeria losing approximated N320 billion per day. From some state
capitals came reports that governors, who earlier decided at the National
Economic Council (NEC) to advise the Federal Government to remove fuel subsidy
had started siding with the people and encouraging protests.” The Nigerian
Governors Forum (NGF) had also earlier in 2011 announced it was incapable of
paying the N18, 000 minimum wage if the government retained fuel subsidy. The
strike lasted for a week, after which, it was called off. As a result of the
problems enumerated above, this paper identified the effect of fuel subsidy
removal on the welfare of civil servants in Lagos state. It also described and
measured the effect the subsidy removal on their level of poverty and the
extent at which their standard of living has been affected. All these, altogether
highlighted and assessed the welfare improvement or decline of public servants.
The productivity level of civil servants after the subsidy removal also, was
considered alongside their motivation or commitment to work.
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