What Tinubu should do before removing fuel subsidy

In his inaugural speech on May 29, Nigeria’s 16th president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu threw Nigerians into panic when he said,“subsidy is gone. Subsidy can no longer justify its ever-increasing cost in wake of dying resource”. He pledged to divert and sink the huge funds that are squandered daily on the fuel subsidy into much-needed sectors […]

In his inaugural speech on May 29, Nigeria’s 16th president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu threw Nigerians into panic when he said,“subsidy is gone. Subsidy can no longer justify its ever-increasing cost in wake of dying resource”.

He pledged to divert and sink the huge funds that are squandered daily on the fuel subsidy into much-needed sectors like public infrastructure, health, education and job creation.

Before removing the fuel subsidy, the Nigerian government was supposed to have waited for the full operation of the new Dangote Refinery three months after July.

Since the immediate past president did not make any provision for fuel subsidy beyond June, in its 2023 budget, the new administration should empathise with the masses by making a supplementary budget for the next six months with a view to ensuring that the country is flooded with petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery.

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This refinery should also be enlisted among those companies that are exempted from the corporation Income Tax (CIT) in order to ensure that its petroleum product is sold at a very affordable price in the country.

 

Mustapha Baba Azare wrote from Bauchi State