Nigeria’s Downstream Sector May Lose 1m Jobs – PETROAN

The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, PETROAN, has raised an alarm that about one million people might lose their jobs by the end of November if government failed to intervene urgently to save those jobs.
PETROAN said the inflationary trend in the downstream petroleum sector was forcing retail outlets to close shop as they no longer could afford the spiraling prices of petrol.
According to the National Publicity Secretary of the association, Dr. Joseph Obele, policy inconsistency, instability and financial turbulence in the sector have compounded the challenges of retail outlets and have made it difficult for them to secure funds from financial institutions.
He said the removal of subsidy from fuel by President Bola Tinubu in May, 2023 raised the price of fuel astronomically. “Before the removal of fuel subsidy, it cost about N7 million to buy a truck of PMS with a capacity of 45,000 litres. As of today, the same truck is selling for N47 million. The sudden upward review of 500% has rendered about 10,000 retail outlet owners financially handicapped and incapacitated.”
Dr Obele said ever since the removal of subsidy and subsequent hike in the price of fuel, petrol outlets compelled PETROAN to collate data, whose results showed that 10,000 operators of retail outlets would be shutting down in the 45 days if there were no urgent interventions. He said the average direct and indirect workforce for each of the outlets was 100 persons, which adds the total potential job loss to one million.
“The transformation policies of President Tinubu are showing great hope for the economy of Nigeria in the near future, but at the moment it will be economically disastrous for another one million persons to join the labour market.
“Arising from the imminent threat of job losses, the National President of PETROAN, Dr Billy Gillis Harry, has taken proactive steps in consolidating the economic transformational programmes of Mr. President by writing a passionate request letter to Mr President to approve a grant of ₦100B (one hundred billion naira) as a way of urgent intervention and a solution to salvaging the imminent job losses.
Obele said application for the grant has been submitted to President Tinubu and his response was being awaited. He said PETROAN was willing to support the economic reforms agenda of the federal government. If approved, the PETROAN publicity secretary said the grant would save 10,000 retail outlets and the jobs of one million their employees, apart from stabilizing the sector.
Dr Obele said the Federal Government should consider the request for the grant as an emergency the way it did for the health and aviation sectors during COVID‐19 and likewise the support for the power sector and the N200 billion intervention fund for micro, small and medium scale enterprises and manufacturers in Nigeria. Obele said PETROAN was also calling on the National Assembly and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy to intervene for the quick release of the grant to save the economy.