The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, says the removal of fuel subsidy was necessary but has faulted the Federal Government for failing to properly manage and invest the savings from the policy.
Speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Obi argued that the resources recovered from subsidy removal should have been channelled into productive sectors of the economy, while providing alternatives to cushion the impact on Nigerians.
He maintained that the problem was not the removal of the subsidy, but the failure to properly manage the resources saved from the policy.
“I subscribe and I maintain that we need to remove subsidy. Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it,” Obi said.
He also argued that Nigerians should have been provided with tangible benefits from the savings, including measures to reduce the hardship caused by higher fuel prices.
“What we should have done is that when we removed it, we should have given the people alternative usage for the subsidy.”
Obi accused the government of mismanaging and stealing the resources recovered from the policy.
“What we have today is that that removal and the attendant resources being recovered is also being mismanaged and stolen.”
He added that he had advocated for an organised approach to subsidy removal during the 2023 election, with the savings properly accounted for and invested in areas that would improve the economy and ease the burden on Nigerians.
Comments
Add a comment