Cushioning Effects Have Never Worked'SAHEED HAMMED (Commuter)MANY of us stay far from our places of work. We cannot do without transportation. Presently, we are lamenting the high rate of transportation; and now this madness termed 'removal of Oil subsidy.' Any increase in fuel is a corresponding increase in goods, services and cost of transportation.For us to survive, any increase in fuel will lead to increase in prices of goods and services. That means salaries should also increase.I will advice government to leave it the way it is now, and see what they can do to repair our refineries.We are deceiving ourselves if we agree that the impact of subsidy removal will be less if there are cushioning effects. I don't believe the government; they have promised and failed over time.'My Bills Will Certainly Go Up'SEMIU BALOGUN (Plumber)INCREASE in price of fuel as a result of subsidy removal is an increase in prices of goods and services and my service won't be an exception. If prices of goods and cost of transportation increase, then I will have no option, than to increase my bills. If I bill you 3000 now, you may have to pay 5000 when things increase. It is not my fault. I will never take advantage of this kind of situation, but I will also have to survive.Why don't we have refineries here' Must we as a nation always depend on others' These people know what to do but won't just do them. Every reasonable Nigerian knows that having refineries here will reduce the price of fuel.The increment will have a negative impact that will be well felt.'It Will Increase Our Pains'OLAOSEBIKAN MICHEAL (Vulcaniser)WE cannot afford three meals daily and we are struggling to survive. The economy is bad and there is no job and now government has decided to give us bonus through removal of oil subsidy. My problem is that customers will not like to pay when we fix new prices. As old as I am, I am struggling to survive and yet this government that we hoped on is not trying to alleviate our suffering but adding to them.Government should live and let we the masses live.Anyone who tells you cushioning effect works is a liar. I don't belief this government for even a naira.'Our Transport Fare Will Go Up'OBIOMA EZE (Driver)REMOVAL of oil subsidy will affect us and our passengers. We will also increase our fares, we have no option. It is so unfortunate that to make a living, we will have to do this.I won't advice government since they are never ready to listen to we masses. When did our advice begin to count in this country'There is no way removal of subsidy will not affect Nigerians, we just hope that according to their promise, the effect will be less felt, even though I don't believe them.'Cost Of My Services Will Go Up'MAGRET ABAGWE (Hairdresser)IT is what we buy that we will sell. If government goes ahead to remove oil subsidy we will all bear the brunt. As for me, I will never seize the opportunity like the drivers will do to make life unbearable, but on the other hand I will want to make my moderate profit.We are joking with this issue, but the consequences when it starts will affect all of us, except the rich. Government should leave it the way it is for now. There are more important issues to face, more challenges facing the nation.They should stop lying about palliatives.'Business Cannot Remain The Same'ANTHONY UDOFIA (Driver)AS a matter of fact, Jonathan has really tried for the past one year by ensuring that there is no fuel scarcity. He should just try and ensure that there is no fuel hike because whenever this happens, we also increase what we charge as transport fare. Right now, people are complaining that prices are too high. So, what will now happen when fuel price increases' People may not really have any choice but to pay whatsoever price we call for them since they cannot trek to their destinations, business can never remain the same.In order not to make life difficult for Nigerians, government should please keep the prices as they are. I do not have any alternative arrangement in mind, but I believe government advisers that are specially paid for that should give them an alternative arrangement.'I Use Petrol Everyday, I Have To Cope'OLUSEGUN (Technician)Asking if increament will affect my business is like asking the obvious. I use petrol almost everyday. Well, as Nigerians, we have learnt to suffer and smile. So, no matter how hard it gets for my business, I will still cope.I will just like government to repair our refineries. If we do this and the level of crude oil processed within the country is increased, we may not really have to worry ourselves over subsidy removal.'If Power Sector Is Fixed, We Won't Need Much Petrol'ISHOLA MRS. (hairdresser)IF not that you took time to explain what subsidy is, I do not even know what it. So, how are we so sure that they are adding any money to relieve us when we do not know what it is all about'It will definitely affect my business because most times I use generating set, since the power supply is bad. This makes our charges unaffordable for most customers, which has resulted in dwindling sales. So, if the price of petrol should go up now, it means we will even enjoy lower patronage compared to now. On the other hand, customers will also understand since we are all Nigerians.Government should make the power sector work, so that we do not have to consume petrol as much as we do now.I have learnt to put my trust in God and not any government.'It Will Erode Our Minimum Wage'OGEDENGBE MRS (Teacher/commuter)REALLY, government's plan to remove subsidy from petroleum products at this time is just a way of making life more difficult for Nigerians.We have been fighting for minimum wage for a while now. This means if they eventually pay the money, we will be using 50 percent for transportation fare. In a place like Lagos, where transportation is extremely high, any slight increase in transport fare will be a disaster. A civil servant like me would only have a little left to spend on other things.They should not increase fuel price. Now we can power our household appliances with petrol since the PHCN is totally unreliable. If they do now, we will not be able to live comfortably again.'My Services Would Suffer Much'KAREEM (VULCANIZER)IT will definitely affect us because we use petrol to start our engines. So, if the price of petrol increases, our charges will increase and subsequently our customers will be discouraged.Instead of removing subsidy on petroleum products, government should make the power sector work and people like us will not have to totally depend on petrol to work and customers can also access our services easily.Our leaders have never fulfilled their promises to the masses. Well, we will be happy if they can find other ways of making life easier for us but we do not want subsidy to be removed.'My Services May Lose Patronage'OLASENI AYORINDE (Welder)REMOVAL of fuel subsidy would bring a lot of problem and difficulty to Nigerians. It would affect transportation of raw materials. I usesix to eight liters of diesel daily to fuel my generator and presently one liter of diesel is sold for N145 for per litre, that means without subsidy diesel pump price may shoot up to around N180 to N200 per litre.How much then are we going to charge our customers' Market women would be forced to increase prices of goods. Government should sit down and think properly on things that will benefit the masses.'Now I Pay N550 On Transportation Daily, It Will Jump To Over N1000'ADEBAYO OLAMILEKAN (commuter)IT will affect private sector workers more because the N18, 000 minimum wage is not extended to the private sector. I spend N550 daily on transport. When government removes the subsidy, I will be spending about N1000 daily on transport only, what about feeding and other things because prices of commodities will definitely rise too. Government should devise means to empower youth and diversify. They should leave fuel prices as they are and work on the refineries.'It Will Cripple My Business'SUNDAY ADEWUSI (Mechanic)THE decision to remove fuel subsidy will cripple our business and seriously affect transporters who are our customer. There can never be any cushioning effect, what is more after prices of petroleum products have gone up, what is left to be cushioned, apart from people's lives that will be unbearable.'Patching Tyres Will Jump From N150 To N300'ADELEKE BANJO (vulcaniser)I use fuel for my machine and that means what I charge per tyre will go up to N150 and patching of Okada tyre that costs N150 presently will increase to around N300. How does government want people to survive' This also means feeding our children will also be difficult because prices of commodities will not remain the same.'Lagos To Onitsha Will Jump From N2000 To N4000'FIDELLIS OKONKWO (Businessman)TRANSPORTERS charge about N2000 from Lagos to Onitsha presently, if subsidy should be removed such places would cost about N4000 by road. Government should allow private sector to repair the refineries and also build more. I have no confidence in the government's planned cushioning programme.'Cost Of Raw Materials Will Be Unbearable'SANUSI (employee at PureChem)REMOVAL of fuel subsidy would cause the cost of raw materials to also go up and that may lead to closure of manufacturing companies. If government insists on this issue, that means a lot of people will be forced to commit suicide, because life will be unbearable.'It Will Erode My Profit Margin'OLUWAFEMI IKUDAISI, (Welder)I am self-employed but government is not rendering any help to me in my business. For example, I have a truck, if I buy fuel of N1000 or N1, 500 from here to Lagos definitely, I will still make my profit but, if fuel costs more, that means I will be buying fuel of N2, 500 to 3,000 per day and that will really affect my customers as well because I will charge higher.I don't see the reason why they will increase fuel, if our refineries are spoilt, they should repaired them.'Employers Will Have To Increase Wages'ADEDEJI ALBERT (Commuter)TRANSPORTERS are going to increase their fares, and that will be tough for salary earners, especially if employers refuse to increase salaries. Automatically, it will affect every other thing, both house rent and money for running the home. We are not really happy as government is going to remove subsidy, that is, if there is any subsidy at all. For government to remove subsidy, they need to make alternative plans and ensure that refineries are working at full capacity.'What Do They Use Our Taxes For''TUNDE KEHINDE (mechanic)IF they remove it we are the one that would suffer it at the end of the day. We are hungry let them know that hungry man is angry man. Now we are paying our taxes to support government but yet nothing has happened; may God bless Nigeria.Let them build refineries here because when we build it we refine our crude oil here, not taking it outside, the moment you take crude oil outside the country the price can never be the same again.If our government is active, there would be nothing like subsidy, it is because we don't manage our refineries well. There is no need to remove subsidy while our own refineries are not working. I'm aware that they have given some licenses to build refineries but unfortunately nothing has been done, the refineries are not working.
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