Contrary to speculations and reports across Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari has said he is yet to take any decision on the removal of subsidies on petroleum products.
Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a press statement said Mr Buhari said this after a brief meeting with officials from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other agencies in the oil sector.
“I have received many literature on the need to remove subsidies, but much of it has no depth. When you touch the price of petroleum products, that has the effect of triggering price rises on transportation, food and rents. That is for those who earn salaries, but there are many who are jobless and will be affected by it,” the President stated.
The president Buhari also promised to deal decisively with all identified problems of the oil and gas sector while noting that the lack of security, sabotage, vandalism, corruption and mismanagement, not necessarily subsidies, are the most serious problems of Nigeria’s oil sector.
The statement also noted that Buhari directed the NNPC to review existing agreements for the swapping of crude oil for refined products with a view to injecting more honesty and transparency into the process to reduce costs and tasked the NNPC management to do more to improve the supply of liquefied petroleum Gas (cooking gas).
Meanwhile, Senator Bukola Saraki had said fake fuel subsidy operators are responsible for one of the most massive frauds in Nigeria. Inappropriate fuel subsidy management annually results in a drainage of $2 billion from the treasury.
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