Why Buhari returned subsidy- Sylva
President Muhammadu Buhari returned the regime of subsidy payments for petrol in order to ameliorate the suffering of poor Nigerian households who were negatively impacted by price hike, Minister of state for petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva has said.
The Minister said though Mr. President had the courage and political will to sustain the price hike arising from subsidy withdrawal, he had to pull it back as a listening leader in the interest of poor Nigerians.
Sylva said: ‘Subsidy withdrawal is a necessity which must be carried out. But we need to discuss and be on the same page with all stakeholders before implementation so that nobody would have reasons to blame the federal government.
“It is in Nigeria’s best interest to withdraw subsidy in order to cut off the incentives for fuel smuggling across the nation’s borders and stop building the economy of other countries at the nation’s expense.
“A lot is going on to ensure its process when finally implemented. Even labour understands the subsidy situation but we need alternatives and to be on the same page”.
The minister admitted that a lot of outstanding subsidy payment was inherited from the previous administration and that efforts were being made to pay the marketers.
