The National Economic Council, NEC, headed by Vice President Kashim Shettima, has been instructed by President Bola Tinubu to start developing interventions to lessen the effects of subsidy removal on the populace.
The President’s order came on the same day that the 36 state governors of the federal republic of Nigeria backed the elimination of the gasoline subsidy.
To mitigate the effects of the removal of subsidies, major oil marketers on Wednesday gave the federal government 100 mass transit buses worth N10 billion.
Following a courtesy call on President Tinubu on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, made this statement.
The marketers were in the presidential villa to show support for the president for his audacious decision to end subsidy payment, the governor told State House reporters after the courtesy visit.
He observed that Tinubu’s action demonstrated his courage and resolve to stop the hemorrhage that had plagued the nation for years.
According to him, the nation spends approximately N4 trillion a year on subsidies, which should now be distributed among the three levels of government by the FAAC, the Federation Account Allocation Committee.
The governor claimed that while the people might experience some discomfort, the decision would ultimately be beneficial because there can be no gains without suffering.
Dame Winifred Akpani, Chairman of DAPPMAN, said the courtesy visit was to express the major oil marketers’ utmost support to the federal government.
She expressed hope that the removal of subsidies would help the country reposition itself and acknowledged the challenges it had brought about.
Dame Akpani pointed out that Nigeria had spent over N2 trillion in the first three months of 2023, and if it kept up the pace of spending, the total might reach N7 trillion by the end of the year.
She claimed that by providing subsidies, Nigeria had been able to feed its neighbours, but added that because of the country’s ongoing economic woes, it was unable to continue to do so.
In an effort to aid the initiative’s success, the marketers declared their intention to donate 50 to 100 mass transit buses in the hopes that other well-intentioned corporate entities would follow suit.