Crusaderhotnews
BY- BISHOP AKHALAMHE, Ph.D
The payment of fuel subsidy policy was introduced by the federal government to reduce the cost of living of Nigerians living below the poverty line. Nigerians use fuel for vehicles, motorcycles, tricycles and generators.
The product price is regulated while the prices of kerosene and Diesel are fully deregulated to allow market forces determine the prices.
The federal government has attempted severally to remove fuel subsidy and have the market price fully deregulated but this decision often meet with public resistance and provocation.
The international monetary fund(IMF), World Bank and other international organizations have advised the federal government against payment of fuel subsidy. That, it drains the public resources needed for developmental projects.
On this premise and following the passage of the petroleum industrial Act, the federal government has fixed mid next year, 2022 to remove fuel subsidy and replace it with the payment of #5,000 to 40percent of Nigerians (40million Nigerians) who are the poorest of the poor to cushion the effect of the inflation Nigerians will face as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy.
The minister of Finance; Mrs Zainab Ahmed has earlier posited that, the Government pays subsidy of #150billion monthly which amount to #1 .8trillion yearly.
I called this, miscalculation of policy; an attempt to remove fuel subsidy and replace it with another expensive subsidy (Transport Grant).
See this; Transport Grant of #5,000 to 40million Nigerians in a month is #200billion which amount to #2.4trillion in a year. It is more expensive to replace fuel subsidy of #150billion with Transport grant of #200billion Monthly.
Apart from the above miscalculation of policy, what are the criteria to determine the poorest of the poor in Nigeria when there is no data base for the citizens.
I don't have confidence in this economic decision as it lacks transparency. We don't want this to go the way of the social investment programmes such as trader Moni which ran into Billions of Naira.
Today, we don't have the records of the percentage of Nigerians who benefitted from such program.
I therefore appeal to the federal government to have a rethink in the removal of fuel subsidy as it will lead to hardship, poverty, agony, depression and frustration in Nigeria.
Nigerians will not be able to buy fuel at #344 per litre. Nigerians are already going through tough time and this will further impoverish them as it will lead to hyper inflation in all facet of the Economy.
The problem is not payment of fuel subsidy but high cost of governance. The government should cut down personal and overhead cost and this will help in developmental projects.
A New Nigeria is possible.
DR. BISHOP AKHALAMHE.
Accounting Scholar, Educationist, Author of many Books, strategic business expert, Edo 2016 and 2020 Governorship Candidate and Edo state Chairman, ZENITH LABOUR PARTY (ZLP).
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