 Welcome back, it's the Business and Science and Plus TV Africa. While the Nigeria Employers Consultation Association NECA and its immediate reaction said local refining of crude oil remained the only way out for Nigeria, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, contended that the latest increase in the price of petrol would further impoverish the people. Now, checks indicated that each operator is allowed to change price based on its cost elements under the President's deregulation. It also shows that the dwindling value of the marriage has put pressure on fuel importers including NNPC, Ltd., as well as major and independent marketers. I have a public affairs analyst now joining me to discuss further and this I thank you for joining me, Mohammed Abdul-Lai. Good morning to you. Thank you. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning, my judge. All right. Let's start this for you. Mohammed, let me get your candid opinion. In an interview just yesterday, the NNPC and the NMDAPRA attributed the current fuel price hike to factors of demand and supply, but in your opinion, do you think that is the true picture because if you look at things really, it's not as though they were like a new importation that was brought that actually made the price go up. I guess they were just speculating because of the forexam issue. How do you really react concerning that? Yes, thank you. I think it's not true. It is like you have mentioned in the report that to my own understanding, please, that it is due to the force of demand and supply. Because I remember just last week or less than two weeks ago, I remember same NNPC. NNPCL now issuing a report that the demand shortfall is amounted to more than 18 million liters shortfall. You know, since the increase, since the initial increase to five hundred and something, there has been about 18 million liters shortfall by Nigeria. Which means, you know, most people probably will even have cars and resorted to drop their cars at home. And in fact, I have that physical experience. I just came back. I mean, I was at the moment, but I just came back from traversing the north, namely Kaduna, Niger, Stadanabuja. I tell you, the cars were very, very few on the road. What you find predominantly on the roads were actually what you call Kekena Pepia. But private cars were very, very few. Even in the federal capital, I must tell you. So, in now, and even in Lagos, the traffic is somewhat reduced to the best of my knowledge. Since I arrived about a week ago. So, saying now that it's due to the cost of demand and supply, I don't think it's true. Because the same kind of PCL, two years ago, I can mention, mentioned that less than, at least, Nigeria are now consuming about less than 18 million shortfall. So, but having said that, I think what might result to the increase is not necessarily the demand and supply at the moment. It is necessarily the global rate for food, which we know because we don't defy. Yeah, in Nigeria, what is the major problem? Because we don't defy. So, whatever affects the food globally will adversely affect price in Nigeria, since it's been dilapidated. And that is just the kind of food. I know probably last week or so, or this week, what's called a buyer is sold for about $7,000 or $80 USD. So, the more it falls, the more likely, because we are just exporting food, the more likely that all price will be high here. And again, even when it's high, it's the same thing. Because we are just exporting and we are importing, refining food, all the factors involved will be the cost, cost, cost. For you as an importer, come on, you are looking for profit. You would want important things for $5,000 and then sell it for $4,000. It's not possible. The least you could sell is $6,000, $7,000, depending on your transportation, even within Nigeria. So, I don't think if you want my opinion that it is true that it is due to the cost of demand and supply. No, I think it is due to the process of defy that global food, the price of global food is falling or increasing, whichever it is, it will have the same problem in Nigeria if we don't defy locally. Alright, Abulai. The NLC seems to have a different idea of the entire situation. I watched an interview with the NLC president, Joe Agere. He said that NLPC mentioned that the independent marketers are now imported with five petroleum products into the country and they are no longer the sole importers. But the problem right now is that who are these importers? We don't really know and NLPC is not really telling us. Do you actually believe that the issue of sole importation has actually stopped by the NLPC? No, I don't think it is the issue of whether there is sole importation or so. But I don't really have an idea whether truly depending on the cost because seriously the information I have on the street is the fact that, for instance, even major marketers that used to sell probably one tanker per day or particularly in a week all over the country, maybe say in Lagos particularly where the demand is very high, they struggle to sell a tanker of 33,000 litres now in a month. So it is quite challenging. You won't get products that you know will sell or you will make a loss. So yes, it is very possible that there are independent marketers that are importing products. It is also possible that they are well-intended or because like I mentioned earlier, the demand is really low at the moment. In fact, with this major increase now, again with this new increase, the demand will be lower. So it means if you go into the procession, it is not that there is no fuel or there is no PMS, it is there. But in fact the demand for it is becoming scarce. The demand for it is becoming very worse. I don't want to think it is an issue of whether it is only NNPC, everybody is importing or you have no idea. I don't think that is the major issue. Because at the moment I know there is no scarcity anyway. Like I told you, why wasn't it not? It is all over the place. You just drive in and buy and you can count how many cars or vehicles or tricycles that goes into any fuel station to buy at any point in time. But the issue is that the product is available, but the power of purchase is no longer there. Well I guess it is just some simple economics. The higher the price, the lower the quantities he demanded as economics 101. But then again, let's look at possible situations out of, I mean possible solutions rather out of all of this because of time's sake. A school of thought believes that before the issue of deregulation and the subsidy removal, Nigerians were not actually suffering this much. A couple of the facts that now are allowed to float freely. Some people are saying that maybe we should go back to the days of bringing or maybe bringing back subsidy. Maybe that might just be a change of Nigerians and fortunes. Or do you agree with that postulation? Or in your own opinion, what should we be doing as we speak? No, my opinion please. I was never a component of the removal of subsidy. Like I've said on your show several times, I believe it's not a wise idea to cut off the head because of headache. It's never a wise idea. In fact, if we look at generally speaking in Nigeria, if you allow me to say this, everything seems to be luxury, which is shocking. Housing is luxury, transportation is luxury, work time is luxury, electricity is luxury. Everything you want to think of is supposed to be basic amenity, security. Everything seems to be luxurious. Food is luxury. So where on earth do you have such a thing except Nigeria? So the fact that government is subsidizing oil and the fact that we are in a multicultural economy is nothing too much for the government to do. And mind you, this is a simple fact. We have four refineries in Nigeria that are not refining a drop of oil. That is not an issue of subsidy, please. That is an issue of corruption and misplaced priority by the government since 8, 10, 20 years ago. That is why. You have people working all over these refineries and even in NNPCF before it was either commercialized or privatized whichever world they wanted to use, and they are being paid humongous salaries for doing almost nothing. That is also not the issue of subsidy. It is also not the issue of misplaced priority by the government. Over the years, we have people who have been paid for importing either less amount of PMS into the country. And so there are so many cases where even we declare that we have imported probably 30 or 60 million liters of PMS while they were not imported. But people got paid for it. That is also not the issue of subsidy. That is the issue of corruption. And who is supposed to tackle that? The government. What you are actually holding away from is corruption and it is not an issue of subsidy because like I mentioned earlier, everything is luxury in Nigeria. So it is not a harm. If one part, just one single part, there is only part it means to subsidize for Nigeria. Correct? For me, I was never a proponent of subsidy but it has come. How do we get out of it? Now, there are so many things not in place before this thing shockingly hit Nigeria. All right. Thank you so much, Mohammed. That's as much as we have time for. We do appreciate your thoughts for today. And of course, I'm sure you're actually re-echoing what most Nigerians are feeling right now. Mohammed Abdullah, a public affairs analyst, joined me to look at the issue of increasing the price of fuel. Thank you once again. Thank you very much. All right. As we go on the show, 2013, Nigeria will top the league of people with extreme poverty in the world who are taking DR Congo, India and Madagascar. It deliberate steps and not taking to stabilize the economy. That was the submission of Professor Stephen Deccan while delivering his keynote address at the meeting lunch of the State of Enterprise report, which held in Lagos. I'll leave you with details of that report and I'll see you again next time. I am Justin Akadene. Do enjoy the rest of your day. Bye for now. 10 plus low firm. The made in addition of the State of Enterprise report, 2022, brought together expert from the financial and professional services sector, FBS. The Yes or E report, a first of its kind, an annual industry publication, gives insight into Nigeria's FBS sector. They leave on his keynote address, a professor of economic policy at the University of Oxford, Stefan Deccan, stated that the financial and professional services industry is instrumental to driving any nation's economy. He noted that a Nigeria that thrives and is more stable with better economic policy will cause all businesses to flourish. Now, when you look at any country in the world, badly run or well run, relatively speaking, you know it can be a few thousand, can be a few hundred, can be a few dozen, group of people with power or influence that determine the direction of politics and the economics in a country. Olders say that if there is prosperity and no poverty, there will be peace. For them, the FBS industry is instrumental in driving the prosperity and economic development of Nigeria. We will ensure that together, in our practice as professional firms, we give Nigeria the very best that it deserves. And we will also ensure that the private sector under this umbrella comes together as a partner with other sectors for growth and development of our nation. There's clearly a need to change the narrative about Nigeria and we can't leave it alone to the public sector. The private sector also needs to take the initiative and give in the very critical role that the financial and professional services sector plays in economic development, as we have seen in other parts of the world. This is why the enterprise NGR was established. It's about realising that there's a bigger goal for all of us and therefore, engaging. And, you know, engagements have taken place historically in different forms. We think this kind of platform where there's hopefully a collective voice, a sort of unified voice can also have maybe a bigger impact. Managing Director of a Merchant Bank, Banjo Adigwungbe, emphasises the need for strong partnership between the business community and those with political powers. And we see the financial and professional services as a catalyst for economic development and growth. And the focus here is to provide a platform that can ensure that the financial and professional services sector in Nigeria can rank with that anywhere in the world and can also provide that catalyst and provide that platform to generate development and growth across all sectors of the economy. Just like other participants, Banjo hopes that if all chronicled in the report are adhered to, everyone stands to benefit from the ripple effects of economic development. 10 plus, low firm. The made-in addition of the State of Enterprise report, 2022, brought together experts from the financial and professional services sector, FBS. The YASSE report, a first of its kind, and Nanil Industry publication gives insight into Nigeria's FBS sector.