The Presidency has explained why President Muhammadu Buhari
compared the fuel price in Saudi Arabia to that of Nigeria during his
Independence Day national broadcast on October 1.
The Presidency also said it was unwise and unfair for the
government to subsidize the cost of petrol for city dwellers while the farmers
and herders who have no cars nor generators are left with nothing.
During his broadcast yesterday, Buhari said fuel will now be
sold at N161 per liter in Nigeria, noting that other nations such as Ghana,
Niger, Chad Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries sell petrol on a
higher prices than Nigeria.
Asked why the President made the comparison during his
appearance on Channels Television on Friday, Garba Shehu, a Senior Special
Assistant to the President Media and Publicity, said, “We belong to a global
market system. We are buying mostly our refined products from the international
market.
“Is it fair that the taxpayers’ money…how many Nigerians
have cars anyway? How many of them run generators in their homes that they need
this fuel for?
“Is it fair that the farmer, herders and low level people in
the society that the taxpayer money is taken from them is subsidising the
lifestyle of our city urban dwellers? So these are.. the President is just
trying to be as practical on these matters as possible.
“So Saudi Arabia is important in this discussion because,
what is the technological cost of producing a barrel of oil in Saudi Arabia?
“It’s not more than a quarter of what we spend here and yet
you see them charging more than Nigeria. How much comes to Nigeria when you
look at our technical cost? …”
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