LP chieftain advises FG to consider gradual removal of fuel subsidy

Chinedu Onyeizu, a chieftain of the Labour Party (LP), has advised the federal government to consider a gradual removal of fuel subsidy rather than doing so at once.

Onyeizu offered the advice during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

He pleaded with the government to first put in place workable policies that will possibly cushion the effect of the removal without inflicting further hardship on the people.

“I am not of the view that subsidy should be removed entirely at once. I am of the view that it should be gradually wound down,” NAN quoted him as saying.

“My recommendation is that we have a plan first, as a country. We should have a plan, to say in the next three years, we will no longer be paying for subsidy and then we start working on the plan.

“While you do that, you are able to put in place programmes that will alleviate the suffering of the people, if the subsidy is removed.”

The LP chieftain referred to subsidy payment as the most sustained “scam” any government could allow to happen, adding that if the right things were done, subsidy removal or fuel importation would not be an alternative, given the quantity and quality of resources in Nigeria.

“My background is in petroleum engineering. I worked in the oil industry for about 18 years and I understand that Nigeria has more than 38 billion barrels of crude oil in reserves or backyards,” he said.

“I also know that Nigeria’s crude oil is the best form of crude oil in the world which is the reason why it is called sweet crude.”

Onyeizu also said that “it does not make logical sense” that despite the volume of crude in our reserves, yet, the nation imports fuel and pays subsidies so Nigerians can access the by-products of crude oil.