Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo
The Secretary to the Government of Federation of Nigeria (SGF), Senator George Akume, has advised Nigerians to support the administration of President Bola Tinubu, saying the aftermath of fuel subsidy would be beneficial to all.
Akume, stated this at an event organised by the El-Mavericky Centre for Educational Research and Development, which was tagged: ‘Leading With Compassion and Vision: Charting A New Course in The Post-Subsidy Era.’
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation who was represented by Prof. Myinaga Ikpah, also commended the organisers, saying the theme of discussion was timely.
He noted that the present administration would work for the development of the entire country in all ramifications.
Also the Executive Director of El-Mavericky Center for Educational Research and Development, Sulayman Nafiu, equally posited that the removal of oil subsidy was for federal government to save the country from fiscal catastrophe.
Nafiu, in a communique issued and made available to THISDAY yesterday, in Osogbo, at the end of leadership summit held in Abuja, stressed that the convention would further assist government in policy formulation that would spark economic growth in the country.
He equally noted that data from the Nigeria Extractive Indus-tries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), fuel subsidy payments have gulped N13.7 trillion in Nigeria’s national bud-gets between 2005 and 2021.
He opined that between January and July 2022, data showed that the Nigerian government spent N2.04 trillion on subsidy payments.
The Executive Director remarked that the gathering of key stakeholders, professionals, leaders of thought and young Nigerians who have come together to engage in a crucial national discourse has significant impact on our nation’s economy and development as well as on the welfare and wellbeing of the Nigerian masses.
The theme of the leadership summit was, “Leading with Compassion and Vision: Charting a New Course in the Post-Subsidy Era’’ is apt and
timely considering the present situation of things in our country.
Tinubu had during his inaugural address to Nigerians on May 29, 2023, announced the removal of fuel subsidy.
Nafiu contended that the decision to halt fuel subsidy payment was a hard one to take for Tinubu, but that it was indeed the right thing to do, considering its negative implications on the nation’s economy. financial burden on the country for more than four decades.
According to him, “as noted by President Tinubu, during his 2024 New Year address to Nigerians, the payment of fuel subsidy was halted to save Nigeria from fiscal catastrophe. For more than four decades, fuel subsidy became a financial burden on the country. The Executive Director remarked further that, “Although when the fuel subsidy was first introduced in the 1970s, it was conceived to provide relief to Nigerians as a result of the sudden increase in oil prices at the international market, it however later turned out to be a regressive policy that only benefited a few wealthy individuals at the expense of the growth and development of the nation.”
He said a civic organisation, Dataphyte, in a report published on May 28, 2023, estimated that if the Tinubu administration decided to retain fuel subsidy at 100 percent, subsidy payment would have cost the country the sum of N3.5 trillion annually and N14.01 trillion in four years.
He commended Tinubu for taking the hard and yet necessary decision to end fuel subsidy payment, something his predecessors did not have courage and political will to do.
