The removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has further received a boost from Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Professionals drawn from various parts of the country, who described the development as ‘good riddance to bad rubbish.’
The group, under the auspices of Oil And Gas Transparency and Advocacy Group, at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, stated that the Federal Government spent N1.243 trillion monthly as fuel subsidy, saying the economy will collapse, if the regime was not ended.
The national chairman of the group, Isah Abubakar, who was flanked by the General Secretary, Joe Moses and other top executives, explained that petrol otherwise known as PMS, was still sold at N600/litre across the country, despite the subsidy regime.
Abubakar said the sum of N1.243 trillion being fuel subsidy cost was not in the nation’s budget for 2023.
They believed this was being driven by few questionable merchants whose monolithic line of business is “fuel subsidy”.
The group lamented that the pillage of resources in the guise of fuel subsidy has taken too long, thereby making the scam looks like a mystery.
More worrisome, the group maintained that subsidy was a lack of transparency, accountability and probity, stating that it was only a nation like Nigeria that can tolerate such humongous financial haemorrhage amid poverty, lack and starvation of the citizens.
They further described removal of the “decade of fuel subsidy”, as an “action of the new Sheriff in town”, which undoubtedly was in the interest of Nigerians and for the development of the country.
Asking for the understanding of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and other organised bodies, the CSOs expressed optimism that there would be a paradigm shift from the past under President Tinubu in terms of economic outflows of the country.
They cautioned the NLC not to embark on strike or make themselves available for oil cabals to be used against the new government, adding that “dialogue remains the potent form for settling differences.”
The group said: “The petroleum subsidy regime which has existed for decades has been without transparency, credibility and accountability in the process leading to payments of claims to the so-called beneficiaries of the arrangement.
“As at 2022, the Federal Government of Nigeria pay out N1.243 trillion as fuel subsidy monthly. In a normal society, this should be unacceptable to the government and the citizens.
“The so-called fuel subsidy regime has not mitigated the economic woes of the nation, even as consumers buy fuel a high price of N600 per litre.”
To sustain the policy of fuel subsidy removal, the CSOs askes President Tinubu to rejig the nation’s borders and tackle fuel smugglers to the neighbouring countries.
They also sought cooperation of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited to ensure the sustainability of the product in the face of removal of fuel subsidy, stressing that it would amount to policy summersault if saboteurs are allowed to have their way.
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