Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri
A former Governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai has alleged that over N8 trillion may have been spent by the Bola Tinubu administration to subsidise the pump price of petrol.
The ex-minister insisted that the price of petrol, which is sold for between N600 to N700, should have been higher than diesel rate, presently sold at over N1,000, if not for the subsidy that the current administration is paying.
The former Kaduna State governor made the assertion yesterday in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, while delivering a lead paper during a capacity building workshop for Borno state officials.
The programme was tagged: “Enhancing Skills of Government Officials in Policy Implementation and Productive Human Management Resources”.
It was held for Commissioners, Chief Advisers and Special Advisers, Senior Technical Advisers, Heads of Agencies and Departments, Tertiary Institutions and Local Government Chairmen in Borno at the International Conference Centre, Musa Usman Secretariat, Maiduguri.
He said: “Asiwaju (President Bola Tinubu) announced the withdrawal of fuel subsidy on May 29 , but believe it or not , fuel subsidy is back , we’re spending more now, several trillions on subsidy than before May 29.
“For example, if you appoint a person to a position and he is not performing to expectations, you should have the humility to say look, I need a better person to do the job perfectly. Leadership is a continuous thing and in a term of four years, you can’t assess a government of nine months.
“But as I also said earlier during my presentation, the removal of fuel subsidy by the present administration is another good policy by President Tinubu. I have always supported withdrawal of fuel subsidy.
“But as you can see, in the course of implementation, the government has now realised that the subsidy has to be back, because right now, we are paying a lot of money amounting to trillions of naira for subsidy even more than before.
“This is because the impact has been seen and the packages of support that will reduce the impact have not been effective in reducing the impact. So, the federal government had to backpedal by subsidising petrol.
“Many people don’t know this. If they want to know whether there is fuel subsidy or not, they should compare the prices of petrol and diesel per litre. This is because under normal circumstances, petrol is supposed to be more expensive than diesel. As it is, diesel is above N1,000, while petrol stands at about N600 per litre. So we are still subsidising fuel in Nigeria,” he argued
El-Rufai added that while he had always supported the withdrawal of fuel subsidy, the government is paying more than when it took over the reins of government.
The former Kaduna State governor however stated that no policy is cast in stone, stressing that the present administration has done the right thing by making the necessary adjustment on fuel subsidy.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Borno State Head of Service, Mallam Fannami commended the former governor for honouring the invitation, noting that participants would have the opportunity to tap from his wealth of experience in public service.
He also appreciated Zulum for his unwavering commitment and passion to rejuvenate and fix the state’s civil service to make it a working, effective, efficient and robust service delivery institution in the state.
While declaring the workshop open, Zulum who was represented by his Deputy, Umar Kadafur, commended the organisers for the choice of the lead speaker , el-Rufai.
He added that the former Kaduna state governor is not only a politician, but a man of impeccable credentials and an outstanding performer.
The governor admitted that the ripple effects of the workshop would be felt in public administration in the state.
“It will undoubtedly impact positively on the running of government business. Therefore, I want to reassure our civil servants that my administration has noted the continual need for this type of training to improve the quality of our civil servants for delivery of quality services to our people,” Zulum said.
