…as major marketers back President, donate 100 buses
KEMI OMONIYI
In a bid to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal, President Bola Tinubu yesterday ordered the National Economic Council (NEC), to commence the process of working on interventions.
Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, disclosed this while briefing State House Correspondents after leading some major oil marketers on a courtesy call on President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Abiodun said that the marketers were in the presidential villa to express solidarity with the president for his bold decision to end subsidy payment.
This is as he commended the President’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy noting that the action showed his determination and courage to remove the haermorrhage that had bedevilled the country for decades.
He said the country was spending about N4 trillion annually on subsidy, which henceforth should be taken to the Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC for sharing among three tiers of government.
The governor said that while there would be some discomfort on the part of the people, the move would eventually pay off as there could be no gains without pain.
Dame Winifred Akpani, Chairman DAPPMAN, said the courtesy visit was to express the major oil marketers’ utmost support to the Federal Government.
She said that they were aware of the difficulties the subsidy removal has created in the country, expressing optimism that it was going to reposition the country.
She noted that Nigeria in the first three months of 2023 has spent over N2 trillion, adding that if it continued with the payment, by the end of the year, I may spend about N7 trillion.
Mrs. Akpani said through subsidy, Nigeria has been feeding her neighbouring countries, adding that it can no longer subsidise fuel for African countries while its economy continues to bleed.
Meanwhile, the major oil marketers have donated 100 mass transit buses worth N10 billion to the federal government to cushion the effect of subsidy removal.
The marketers announced their intention to donate 50 to 100 mass transit buses as a way to help the success of the initiative, hoping that other well meaning corporate bodies would do the same.
