Those wishing for removal of subsidy on petroleum resources may be in for a long wait as President Muhammadu Buhari has said he would rather tackle the issue of corruption and lack of transparency in the sector than remove subsidy which he said may trigger inflation and price hike.
President Muhammadu Buhari said Monday in Abuja that his administration will handle the issue of subsidies on petroleum products with care.
Speaking after receiving a briefing from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other agencies in the oil sector, President Buhari said that he will carefully review all the submissions he had received on the need to remove the subsidies.
“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 noted.
President Buhari also said that the lack of security, sabotage, vandalism, corruption and mismanagement, not necessarily subsidies, are the most serious problems of Nigeria’s oil sector. He promised to deal decisively with all identified problems of the oil and gas sector.
“We have to go back to the good old days of transparency and accountability,” the President said .
President 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.
The President also asked the NNPC management to do more to improve the supply of liquefied petroleum Gas (cooking gas).
