Dr. Ifeoluwa Arowosoge who represents Ekiti South West, Ikere and Ise/Orun Federal Consistency 1 in the House of Representatives has admonished the government at all levels to consider the poor in policy making.
The lawmaker, who wa
s reacting to the increase in electricity tariff, contended that with the deregulation of the power sector, government must ensure 24-hour uninterrupted and affordable power supply.
He said: “Consumption of PMS will drop but about 40 per cent if there is steady electricity, government should ensure that all the existing refineries produce at maximum capacity; commence without further delay and the establishment of the three new refineries promised as part of the palliative measures.”
Arowosoge urged government to bring smuggling and piracy to zero level and promulgate laws that would ensure stiffer penalty for economic saboteurs.
He wanted the authorities to double its efforts on exportation of refined products to meet the need of the neighbouring countries that rely on smuggled product from Nigeria and the opening of mega stations by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in those countries.
Worried over the unabated killing of innocent Nigerians by the dreaded Boko Haram, he asked government to urgently rally human and material resources to tackle the menace.
This according to him would be possible when political leaders were honest and proactive in the business of governance in order to check the growing culture of rivalry, thuggery, hatred and bloodletting.
He said: “Illiteracy, poverty and unemployment are the root cause of violence in the society. Government at all levels should identify the real propagators of violence and arrest the situation while employment and training opportunities should be provided for the teeming jobless youths.”
On infrastructure, he reiterated the need for Nigeria to learn from countries like Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Ghana and Cote’de Ivoire that had put high premium on their transport, power, tourism, agriculture and oil & gas sectors.
He said: “They have efficient road, rail/water/Air transportation system, well organized tourism sector and un-interrupted power supply. Today, Cote’de Ivoire refines oil for NNPC. Venezuela has 12 refineries in the USA and 18,000 gas stations in the West Coast all in the hands of Venezuelans.”
The lawmaker maintained that government should not be afraid to tackle the barons and petroleum products cartels whose activities had continued to weigh government and the people down.
He cautioned that the country was currently witnessing brain drain therefore, government should start to work out a policy that will put Nigerian economy in the hands of honest, dedicated, efficient and hardworking Nigerians.
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