The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has charged Nigerians to support the recent policy on deregulation of the downstream sector of Nigeria’s petroleum Industry, assuring that the policy would benefit the people of the country.
Deputy Director, Documentation, Translation and Publications (DTP) NOA, Kogi State Directorate , Mr Patrick Odogbanya gave the charge on Friday when the agency paid advocacy visit to the Chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Kogi state council, Lokoja.
According to him, the agency was in NUJ premises as partner in progress to create awareness for members of the public on what deregulation is all about and also to educate the people on the benefits of subsidy removal.
He noted that the visit was to appeal to the media to help disseminate the news items in order to abreast the general public the measures being put in place to cushion the effects of subsidy removal .
“I am here to inform the public on what fuel subsidy is all about, why it should be removed and the gains of fuel subsidy removal” he stated.
While highlighting the benefits of fuel subsidy removal, Odogbanya said that the policy will free up resources for other sectors of the economy by stimulating more downstream investments, especially in the domestic refining space, thereby creating more jobs and revenue for the people and the government.
He further said the policy would pave room for the establishment of domestic refineries to produce more petroleum products, thereby reducing Nigeria’s over dependence on importation refined fuel.
“The domestic refineries will boost the country’s economy, remove fuel subsidies and put a stop to the unhealthy price hike. It would also create open market reflective prices bring in more investors and create a more efficient market thereby reducing fuel scarcity and its adverse effects on the Economy”.
Responding, the Chairman of NUJ, Comrade Adeiza Momohjimoh who was represented by the Vice Chairman of the union , Mallam Abubakar Suleiman , commended NOA for the visit and promised to ensure that the media create awareness to the public using both print and electronic media to disseminate the information to the people.
“It is the responsibility of the media to inform, educate and enlighten the public about the activities of government and also ensure that the interest of the public is also protected” he said.
