A former Governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda, despite President Bola Tinubu’s assertion last year that “the fuel subsidy is gone,” has claimed that the federal government continues to subsidize petroleum products.
This revelation comes amid ongoing debates over the economic implications of subsidy removal in Nigeria.
In his inaugural speech, President Tinubu announced the cessation of fuel subsidy, a move that was not reflected in the 2023 Budget, highlighting the government’s stance on subsidy payments as no longer justifiable.
This policy shift was in line with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) advice, which last month urged Nigeria to eliminate fuel and electricity subsidies to mitigate economic challenges.
However, the aftermath of the subsidy removal has seen petrol prices soar, tripling from less than N200 per litre to approximately N700 per litre across major cities.
Yuguda in an interview on Channels TV said, “If the IMF says we are paying subsidy then we are.
“But the subsidy that was removed was the one that was going into private pockets and I decoupled that subsidy that ordinarily shouldn’t have been paid.
“If it should have been paid it should be paid into the treasury of the country and today that revenue increase that we see is reflected in the removal of the monies that were going into the pockets of private individuals is what is going into the treasury of the country.
“You have that subsidy being paid on petrol products that are pumped through pipelines and in many instances they are pumped through imaginary pipelines, where the pipelines don’t exist, sow e all pay subsidy but that what was the President removed, that is why most states are getting twice or thrice of their allocation.”
Speaking on the economic hardship in the country, the former governor said the average Nigerian will not understand the challenges the president has to face in resolving the economic situation.
He indicated that the members of the president’s cabinet need to help in sensitising the masses on how the government policies will change the nation
He said, “I will expect the cabinet of Mr Predisnet to go down the strata of our society and explain to the people that this is the situation that we have found ourselves in.
“If we hadn’t had our Central Bank messing us up and the economy that has been mismanaged in the past, it wouldn’t be the way it is today.”
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