URBAN AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT POLICIES

SUBSIDY REINVESMENT AND EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME (SURE-P)

BY

Blessing Archibong NTUKIDEM

ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND
NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
UNIVERSITY OF UYO

SUBMITTED TO

DR. U. J. ITUEN
LECTURER IN-CHARGE
URBAN AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT POLICIES
(EVD 717)
ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND
NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
UNIVERSITY OF UYO

DECEMBER, 2023
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INTRODUCTION

A Subsidy is a benefit given to an individual, Business or institution, usually by the

government. It is usually in the form of a cash payment or a tax reduction.

The Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Program known as ‘SURE-P’ SURE-P was a

programme initiated by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2012 to reinvest the savings from

the partial removal of fuel subsidy into various development projects. This scheme was

established during the Jonathan Administration. SURE-P was officially introduced on January

2012 when the Federal Government of Nigeria announced the removal of subsidy on Petroleum

Motor Spirit (PMS). The scheme is one of the pivots of Transformation Agenda of the Federal

Government. The pioneer Chairman of the program is Dr. Christopher Kolade. He resigned his

appointment in September 2013. He was succeeded by General Martin Luther Agwai who

himself was succeeded by Mr Ishaya Dare Akau.

SURE-P ENABLING LAW

The programme did not have a specific enabling law, but rather relied on the executive authority

of the President and the Minister of Finance to implement its activities. The programme was

supervised by a committee chaired by the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister

of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

 One possible reason why SURE-P did not have a specific enabling law is that it was

created as a response to the public outcry and protests that followed the removal of fuel

subsidy in January 2012. The government may have wanted to quickly appease the

masses by announcing a programme that would use the subsidy savings for the benefit of
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the people, without going through the lengthy and complex process of passing a law

through the National Assembly.

 Another possible reason is that the government may have wanted to avoid the scrutiny

and oversight of the legislature and the judiciary, and maintain full control and discretion

over the allocation and expenditure of the funds. This may have enabled the government

to use the funds for political patronage and personal gain, as some critics have alleged.

 A third possible reason is that the government may have lacked the political will and

consensus to pass a law that would define the objectives, scope, duration, and

accountability mechanisms of the programme, given the diversity and complexity of the

Nigerian political landscape. The government may have preferred to operate the

programme as a flexible and adaptable initiative that could respond to the changing needs

and demands of the people and the economy.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The programme aimed to improve the quality of life of Nigerians by enhancing infrastructure,

health care, education, employment, and social safety nets. Some of the achievements of SURE-

P include

1. The completion of several road projects, such as the Abuja-Lokoja Road, which reduced the

travel time from 90 minutes to less than 90 minutes

2. The provision of conditional cash transfers to pregnant women who attended antenatal care

and delivered in health facilities, which increased the demand for maternal and child health

services
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3. The training and deployment of over 3,000 midwives and 15,000 community health extension

workers to underserved areas, which improved the availability and quality of health care for

mothers and children

4. The establishment of a graduate internship scheme, which provided opportunities for 50,000

unemployed graduates to gain work experience and skills

5. The creation of a community services scheme, which engaged 120,000 youths in public works

and social services, such as environmental sanitation, traffic control, and school feeding

Other objectives of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme are:

1. To mitigate the immediate impact of the partial petroleum subsidy removal on the

population by laying a foundation for the successful development of a national safety net

programme that targets the poor and vulnerable on a continuous basis. This applies to

both the direct and indirect effects of subsidy withdrawal.

2. To accelerate economic transformation through investments in critical infrastructural

projects, so as to drive economic growth and achieve the Vision 20:2020.

3. To promote investment in the petroleum downstream sector

MANDATE

The programme had a presidential mandate to accelerate the achievement of the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) in Nigeria, especially those related to maternal and child health.

The programme had a budget of N180 billion in 2012 and N273 billion in 2013, funded by

41.76% of the federal government's share of the subsidy savings². The programme had six main
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areas of intervention: maternal and child health, mass transit, public works, community services,

technical and vocational education, and roads and bridges. The programme was supervised by a

committee chaired by the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy,

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

The Graduate Internship Scheme was created to check the growing rate of graduate

unemployment. With graduate unemployment rate put at about 24 per cent by the National

Bureau of Statistics, NBS, the Federal Government initiated the Graduate Internship Scheme,

GIS, as a component of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-

P. Introduced in the wake of the January 2012 national protest against the attempt to remove the

subsidy on petrol, it is meant to check the growing rate of graduates unemployment.

The following provides eleven points interested graduates should note about the mandate

of the scheme.

1. The Graduate Internship Scheme, GIS, was launched in October, 2012 as a social safety

net component of the Federal Government Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment

Programme, SURE –P, scheme, to create opportunity for Nigerian graduates to be

attached to reputable public/private firms /organisations to be trained and mentored for

one year on a monthly Federal Government stipend of N18, 000.

2. The scheme implemented by the Federal Ministry of Finance provides fresh graduates

short term employment opportunity to sharpen their skills and gain some working

experience and enhance their employability, with a target to employ about 50,000

unemployed youth in the 36 states of the Federation and Abuja in the first phase before

the end of 2013. About 1,000 beneficiaries would come from each of the states, with the

number of participants to be raised to 100,000 in the next phase.

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3. Out of about 84,772 applications so far received since the inception of the scheme, 59,

872 are males, while 24,900 are females, and 329 physically challenged individuals.

About 1,371 firms, out of about 1,937 that registered, were verified, out of which 1,078

applications were rejected, and only 293 approved.

4. To be eligible to be selected to participate in the GIS scheme, interested firms must be

legal entities registered with Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, with evidence of

value added tax (VAT) registration and tax clearance certificates, in addition to the

provision of a mentoring plan for each intern.

5. Prospective interns must be Nigerian graduates aged between 18 and 40 years, who must

have either completed the mandatory National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, or collected

the exemption certificate from the relevant authorities.

6. Organisations interested in taking interns are expected to set selection criteria for each

position, while the electronic system would automatically send them a pool of qualified

graduates from where the organisations would choose their preferred candidate. Interns’

field of study and state of residence are matched to firms/organisations on a first-come

first-served basis. Selected candidate would be notified and invited to report at the

organisation for documentation.

7. Interns are provided with an orientation training to prepare them for the challenges of the

workplace. Interns that demonstrate virtues of industry, exemplary conduct and

commitment to diligent service during their internship period stand a chance to be hired

on a permanent basis.

8. To register to participate in the scheme, organisations and young unemployed graduates

must register on the GIS website, http://www.wyesurep.gov.ng. Interns must fill in all
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their personal and official details, including their bio-data, field of study and state of

residence, while the firms/organisations fill in their details, including their core

competence, years of business experience and office address.

9. Verification of all interns, firms/organisations would be conducted to confirm that

information provided, particularly about their mentoring capabilities and the numbers of

interns they are capable of catering for, are correct.

10. Interns would be deployed to firms/organisations for the commencement of their

internship after signing the memorandum of understanding (MoU) and Internship

Agreement.

11. While the interns would benefit from the opportunity to enhance their skills and

professional expertise on the job, in addition to the monthly upkeep stipend, registered

firms/organisations under the scheme would enjoy free labour at government expense,

apart from the additional incentives in the form of tax rebates and cost-free opportunity to

render their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to the community in which they are

operating.

CHALLENGES

 However, the project also faced some challenges and criticisms, such as

 Lack of transparency and accountability

 Poor monitoring and evaluation

 Mismanagement and diversion of funds

 Political interference.

The project was discontinued in 2015 by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
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 Trying to do many things with little (about 20% of the 2013 federal government approved

budget) may cost the programme the desired focus and hence affect its meeting of the

preferred goals.

 The rush in putting up of SURE-P without proper macroeconomic studies and forecasts

as well as situational analysis and proper communication affected the credibility of the

programme from onset.

 It is true that subsidy administration is beset with inefficiencies, leakages and corruption

but there is no clear evidence or sign showing that SUREP will be different both at the

state and at the federal levels of governance.

 SURE-P project execution through the Project Implementation Units (PIU’s) of MDAs

may frustrate the programme from operating freely without interference and hence

SURE-P may yet be another failed government programme given the antecedents of the

government’s MDAs in project implementation.

SUCCESS OF SURE-P

1, SURE-P improved maternal and child health by implementing a package of interventions that

addressed both the supply of and demand for maternal health services. Some of these

interventions were:

2. Improving primary health care facilities’ infrastructure, such as providing electricity, water,

toilets, and equipment.

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3. Providing adequate midwife staff for primary health care facilities, by recruiting and

deploying over 3,600 midwives and 1,500 community health extension workers.

4. Ensuring steady supplies of drugs, consumables, and other commodities for the provision of

quality maternal and child health services, such as antenatal care, delivery, postnatal care,

immunization, and family planning.

5. Communication activities to change behavior and promote maternal health services, such as

radio jingles, posters, flyers, and community dialogues.

6. A conditional cash transfer scheme targeting pregnant women, which offered them N5,000

(about US$25) for attending antenatal care, delivering in a health facility, and completing

postnatal care and immunization. This scheme was implemented in a sub-set of facilities.

RECOMMENDATIONS

(1) Macroeconomic Studies and Situational Analysis

A review and analysis of the SURE-P objectives suggests that the subsidy reduction or

removal scheme and her reinvestment components were done in a hurry without thorough

macroeconomic studies and forecasts including a situation analysis. Such quick policy

pronouncement failed to ask and answer simple questions such as: Why was fuel subsidy

introduced in the first place? How will subsidy removal or reduction hurt the populace especially

the poor and vulnerable? Is there any link between fuel subsidy and the level of economic

transformation in the country? Do we have a safety net programme? If yes, is it efficient and

effective? If no, do we need one and what form should it take?

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Failure to ask and provide answers to the above questions have been the reasons for

criticizing the SURE-P because it seems not to understand the proper mitigation mechanisms

needed to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal or reduction.

One of the problems that led to subsidising of petroleum products at the first instance is the

inability for the local refineries to meet with the daily domestic demand. Nigerian state owned

refineries have been notorious for poor performance, which has contributed to fuel scarcity being

experienced nationwide. Even if the refineries were working at full capacity, they would still not

meet local demand. The introduction of subsidy on the other hand has discouraged competition

and stifled private investment in the downstream sector but SURE-P is still found wanting in

attending to this remote cause of the entire imbroglio.

(2) Investments in Refining and Growth Enhancement Sectors

(3) Enhance Transparency and Accountability

(4) Streamline Investments

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REFERENCES

Nigeria Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P

https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/sief-trust-fund/brief/nigeria-subsidy-reinvestment-and-

empowerment-programme-sure-p.

Analysing SURE-P in action - CSJ.

https://csj-ng.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ANALYSING-SURE-P-IN-ACTION.pdf.

The uncelebrated achievements of SURE-P maternal and child healthcare.

https://businessday.ng/analysis/article/the-uncelebrated-achievements-of-sure-p-maternal-and-

child-healthcare/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SURE-P.

http://www.afriheritage.org/publications/DP2.pdf.