Petrol subsidy is anti-poor and must go – Tinubu

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has described petrol subsidy regime as anti-poor and must end if elected president in February.

Tinubu stated this in a brief interview with Freedom Radio during his visit to Saudi Arabia for Umrah (Lesser Hajj).

According to the former Lagos State governor, subsidy payments by successive governments were nothing but a waste of resources that ought to have been used to meet the needs of the people.

Tinubu argued that subsidy payments were most beneficial to the rich and, therefore, ought to be stopped.

He said, “I will ensure we end the wastage and re-channel the money to the people who truly need it.”

The APC presidential candidate had earlier disclosed his plan to scrap subsidy being paid on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) while unveiling his 82-page manifesto tagged “Renewed Hope 2023 – Action Plan for a better Nigeria.”

Tinubu said during the ceremony that the oil sector has been caged by “subsidy” and therefore, must be “unbundled.”

Speaking at an interactive session with captains of industry tagged: “Business Forward” in Lagos, Tinubu rejected oil subsidy payments, saying, “The era when petrol subsidy was fashionable is gone.

He said, “The Petroleum Act is there for us to take a second look at to meet our obligations and no matter how much or long the protest, we will remove petrol subsidy. We will take tough decisions, but it will be done, and that is the truth. The era when fuel subsidy was fashionable is gone. So, it must be removed.

“We can invest the money wisely, for instance in health, as some of you have said. No matter how long you protest, we will remove the subsidy. We can do it. We are educated enough. How can we subsidise the fuel consumption of Cameroon, Niger, Benin Republic, and some others?”

“Other economies are already building charged stations, but we are yet to generate electricity to even roast plantain. Electricity is the most important discovery for humanity in the last 1,000 years and so, we must have electricity whichever way and by all means possible. I can also promise you will not pay for estimated billing. We will talk and walk our talk.

“Please let us do it, we can do it, we are educated enough, we are courageous enough, we are great people. A promise made will be a promise kept,” he said.

The Federal Government is reported to have spent N1.9 trillion on subsidy between January and July 2022.