LAGOS – A cleric, Bishop Joseph Ighalo Edoro, has said the recent reduction of the price of premium motor spirit (pms) in Nigeria after a prolonged horse trading, culminating in massive suffering of the people and varied sectors of our lives and economy, is an interesting development.
Bishop Edoro, who spoke exclusively with Sunday Independent, however, said the price reduction could be viewed from different angles.
He asked: “Firstly, what is the amount reduced? What effect does it have on the already inflated economy? Have prices of goods come down? The answer is ‘No’.
“Will it come down appreciably? The answer is ‘No’. This is because the reduction is very insignificant.”
Edoro, stressed that a lot of filling stations across the nation are not compliant even in the staggered selling price, stressing that it would have been more welcome if the price reduction was significant.
According to him, “I view the position from ‘a one eye closed sleeping posture’.
“Government monopoly is overbearing and as much as I know that the style of this administration is on the dangling carrot mode, I have no trust on the price reduction.
“Government, even with its good intentions, should always feel the pulse of the people and throw away unpopular policies.
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“Would the purported reduction cause the government to reduce electricity tariff? If the government is sincere about this, let them use a formula to work the percentage and reduce electricity tariff, Telecom tariff, tariffs on importation and every other tariff that have benefitted hitherto from the increase of PMS. So, you see, work it out.
“My point is this: It would have been more welcome by the people if it was reduced significantly the same way it was increased.
“Be that as it may, if the idea of reduction is truly based on market forces and transparency and exigency, then we wait to see how government ideas will sanitise and make the market truly competitive and sincere.
“If the price goes down in the New Year, it is because the government has accrued more than enough and is switching from the dangling carrot mode to the persuasion mode because of the expected election.
“Yes, I see the government toning down on a lot of policies which hitherto have brought pain to the people. The people are extremely gullible. But again, that would have been good if it was sustainable.
“I hope the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) will keep its promise and players will play to regain the love and trust the people had before the election.
“In all, we shall continue to pray for our leaders and the government and correspondingly the government should always remember that they are representatives of the people and act accordingly.
“God bless Nigeria, God bless the President and all the leaders. May God grant them his fear to love his people and may the people love their leaders in return.”
