The governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, has faulted the efforts to create a wedge between President Bola Tinubu and governors of the North over the controversial tax reform bills currently at the National Assembly, saying the governors who worked for his emergence have never and are not working against him.

Governor Sule made the disclosure on Friday while receiving a delegation from the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, who visited him at the Government House in Lafia. He explained that what the northern governors called for was the need for further consultation on the tax reform bill before the National Assembly, which encompasses the Value Added Tax.

He accused some vested interests of spreading false information with the intent to cause political tension through unfounded insinuations that the northern governors were opposed to the president.

According to Sule, people who were opposed to Tinubu’s presidency are now pretending to be his better supporters more than those who fought for his victory.

For some people making noise and saying the Northern governors are fighting the President, nobody is fighting the President. How could you fight a President who has made you look good? This is the truth. All we are saying is that some aspects of it, we need to look into it,” he said.

Sule thanked President Tinubu for enacting policies that have made governance and development easy in Nasarawa State without going into debt, saying he could not kick against a leader who has made meaningful contributions to the state’s progress.

The governor said there was a need for better understanding of some of the provisions in the tax reform bills. “We called for the withdrawal of the bills to review some aspects. They said it’s a wrong language, that amendments can be made without withdrawing the bills. I said that’s fine. I’m not looking for any trouble,” he explained.

On Value Added Tax, Governor Sule leaned on his private sector experience to impress upon its necessity for state finances.

He explained that Nasarawa State receives over N4 billion monthly from VAT, which has been very critical for its capital projects. He expressed apprehension over possible changes in the formula for sharing VAT due to the implication for states like Nasarawa, which rely so much on such revenue with their very meager IGR.

I know more about VAT than most of those arguing about it. Having been a chief executive, I know how it is generated and used. Today, it is the lifeblood of many states. Take away VAT from FAAC and you will see how we will all be struggling to fund projects, and I must speak for my people.”.

Governor Sule thanked the CAN Chairman, Very Reverend Dr. Sunday Emma, and his team for calling on the government to create more awareness on the tax reforms. He aligned himself with the call for comprehensive sensitization to be given to Nigerians on the proposed changes.

If they do proper sensitization and address the VAT issue, I will be fully supportive of the tax reforms. But it will be difficult without that, especially for states with low IGR,” he concluded.

Earlier, Dr. Emma had urged both federal and state governments to prioritize awareness campaigns about the tax reforms to foster greater public understanding and inclusion.

Marketers of petroleum products say filling stations still sell Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise called petrol, above N1,000 per litre because they have yet to sell out the old stock.

According to them, the old stock of PMS was bought at the rate of N970 and many still have the product in their tanks.

The PUNCH reported that on December 19, 2024, the Dangote refinery slashed the ex-depot price of its petrol from N970 to N899.50 per litre.

Similarly, the Dangote refinery announced its partnership with MRS Petrol station to sell petrol from its retail outlets nationwide at N935 per litre.

The President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, clarified that the reduction in the price of PMS was primarily driven by the complex dynamics of market forces.

This generated what some called a price war in the downstream sector, forcing the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to reduce its ex-depot price to N899 per litre.

Since the price cuts, NNPC retail outlets in Lagos and its environs have adjusted their pumps to N925/litre.

Similarly, some major marketers were forced to sell petrol below N1,000 a litre. Some sell at N990, N980, N950 or N935.

However, our correspondent observed that despite the price reduction, many filling stations are still selling a litre of petrol above N1,000.

In many filling stations in Lagos, Ogun and many other states, the price still goes for as high as N1,070 per litre.

Although some have effected some changes, they still sell around N1,050, N1,030, N1,010 or N1,000 per litre as of Wednesday.

The price disparity between these filling stations and those owned by major marketers has been blamed for the queues in the latter.

Speaking in an interview with our correspondent, the National Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Hammed Fashola, said the marketers were still struggling with the old stock they bought at the old price.

Fashola maintained that the reduction cannot just take effect immediately.

“Some of our members have old stocks. So, there’s no way they can just start immediately. It’s only when they go back to the market to purchase at the lower price, then they will start selling at the new price. If you look around, as of yesterday, I see many of our members have come down to N940 or N935 in Lagos. So, by next week, you will see more of them. Once they finish with their old stock, they will start selling at the reduced rate,” Fashola stated.

According to him, marketers are aware of the competition out there and no one wants to be left behind.

“You cannot deceive yourself. This is competition. This is what we have been asking for. So, if you like, put your fuel at N1,500, nobody will buy it. So, it’s not deliberate. If you are still seeing a few of us that are still selling at N1,000, it is because of the old stock. Once they finish with their old stocks, they will start selling at the lower price,” he emphasised.

When Fashola was reminded that the filling stations would not have retained the old price if the price had gone up, he replied, “Well, as a businessman, your purpose is to remain in the business. So, if you make a huge loss, you can go down. That’s just it. It is natural.”

Nonetheless, the IPMAN Vice President maintained that a lot of marketers are now making losses due to the price reduction.

“Even at that, some of us still make losses. I can tell you that some people when their stock gets to a level that they can bear the loss, they will reduce their prices. I can take myself an example. Some of my stations yesterday, when we looked at our stock, maybe we had 20,000 litres in some of our stations, we calculated our losses and I thought it was minimal. So, we reduced our prices despite being the old stock.

“That’s the truth. That’s because people are running away. That’s the reality. Many of our members are doing that too. When they calculate the loss and they can bear this loss, they fix a new price,” he stated.

While acknowledging the positive impacts of deregulation, Fashola noted that there is also a negative effect to it.

“The negative effect of deregulation is like what we are just discussing. If you buy a product at maybe, N1,000 today, and tomorrow, the price goes down to N950. You’ve already recorded a N50 loss. You buy a product today from a depot and the following day, the price goes down. Have you finished that stock? It’s not possible. That is the negative aspect of it. Therefore, you have to be careful. You have to go with information before you make your purchases, even before you make your imports.

“And there are some factors you have to consider. That is the exchange rate and the crude oil price. Those are the major factors that determine the price of petroleum products. So, you have to be futuristic. You have to be able to project very well before you make your move. Otherwise, you enter into trouble. That is one of the negative aspects of deregulation. But, we have to cope with it,” he explained.

The marketer lamented that those in the business now face financial challenges following the removal of fuel subsidies.

As the price of PMS rose from N200 to N1,000 per litre, Fashola disclosed that marketers are finding it difficult to do business, especially as the interest rate rises monthly in banks.

“When you go to the bank, you know the interest you will pay. So, which way? We need more money to remain in business–more money, but with a little margin. This is really impacting on us. But we all call for deregulation and we have to live by it. We don’t have an option,” he added.

Fashola advised marketers to get themselves prepared for the challenges ahead, the reality, and the new trend, saying “We cannot be doing our business the way we used to do it before.”

On his part, the National Publicity Secretary of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, Joseph Obele, said no member of the association has bought fuel at the reduced rate.

“None of our members has bought at the reduced rate at the moment,” Obele said, justifying why some filling stations still sell PMS at a higher rate.

He added that there was a wide disparity between the price of PMS in Lagos and Port Harcourt or other places far from Lagos.

According to him, the NNPC sells PMS at N899 in Lagos and N970 in Port Harcourt due to logistics.

Credit: PUNCH

The Abia State Police Command has disbanded its anti-cultism unit over unprofessional conduct.

This was revealed in a statement by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Maureen Chinaka, which also announced the demotion of a corporal to constable.

The statement, issued on Tuesday, read, “The Commissioner of Police, Abia State Command, CP Danladi Isa, in alignment with the vision of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), to establish a professionally competent, service-driven, rule-of-law-compliant, and people-friendly police force, has disbanded the command’s Anti-Cultism Unit for unprofessional conduct and incivility towards members of the public.

“Additionally, F/No: 527324 Corporal Okonkwo Ebuka, attached to the Area Command, Aba, but on special duty at Isuochi was demoted from corporal to constable.

“This decision followed the conclusion of an administrative action in which he was tried in an orderly room and found guilty for discreditable and unprofessional conduct and incivility to members of the public.”

The commissioner stressed the command’s zero-tolerance policy for any form of unprofessional conduct among officers which could tarnish the image of the Force.

“Members of the public are also encouraged to report any unprofessional conduct by officers to the Complaint Response Unit, Abia Command via 09031593827,” the statement read.