President Bola Tinubu is considering a “temporary subsidy” on petrol as crude oil prices and foreign exchange rates continue to soar
There is yet no final decision, presidency sources told
TheCable, but the proposal is “firmly on the table” as Nigerians continue to
groan under harsh economic realities following the removal of petrol subsidy in
May 2023.
Already, labour unions have threatened to embark on an indefinite
strike if the petrol price further surges.
The Kenyan government, on Monday, re-introduced fuel
subsidies to curb soaring prices of petrol, kerosene, and diesel in the
country.
The move came after months of violent anti-government
protests over the burden of high cost of living.
According to a presidency official, the “realistic” amount
of petrol consumed in the country is now known following the removal of subsidy
on Tinubu’s inauguration, hence the amount spent on subsidy “can now be
controlled”.
On Monday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC)
Limited said there are no plans to hike pump prices despite the rise in crude
oil prices, landing cost, and fall in the value of the naira.
This is understood to be an option for Tinubu to keep the
current prices, although private importers have not made a definite
pronouncement on any possible adjustments.
But speculations around another increase in the pump price
of petrol (currently at over N600) have caused tensions across the country,
leading to panic buying in the early hours of Tuesday.
Since Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy,
Nigerians have had no respite from price hikes.
Foreign exchange challenges, coupled with the unrestrained
slump of the naira — Nigeria’s local currency — have led to a sustained upward
trend, in the prices of goods and services.
On Monday, NigerianEye reported that the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) plans to implement new measures to stabilise the naira against
the dollar.
Weeks after Tinubu was inaugurated as Nigeria’s elected
president, his administration — already fraught with legitimacy issues —
quickly introduced several policies in a bid to revive the economy.
But with the current economic realities, it appears that
these policies are not yet yielding the expected results.
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Policy flip-flops. Evidence of unpreparedness for governance. To rig election and steal presidential mandate is one thing, knowing what to do with it is another.
ReplyDeleteNobody steal anybody mandate. Tinubu won the election and all candidates Including obi and atiku promised to remove subsidy and so long as they remove it there is no plan or magic that can save the poor Nigerians from suffering
ReplyDelete