Salako Abimbola
"Today, loans are largely tied to specific capital projects rather than recurrent expenditure such as salaries or fuel subsidy. We should not return to that Fuel Subsidy era,” The National President of NANS, Babatunde Akinteye, said in Akure, the state capital, while speaking at a youth summit.
The summit, sponsored by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, themed ‘Unlocking Ondo State students’ potentials for economic growth.’
Babatunde Akinteye said Nigeria had operated the fuel subsidy for about 40 years, during which successive governments, economists and policy analysts agreed that it was financially unsustainable.
He recalled that during the subsidy era, Nigerians still experienced persistent fuel scarcity despite huge government spending on subsidy payments,and that petrol prices had begun to decline before the outbreak of the Iran-United States conflict, adding that the conflict had contributed to the recent increase in fuel prices.
Akinteye also noted that provisions for fuel subsidy payments had been discontinued in the 2023 Appropriation Bill prepared by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari and that the focus should remain on ensuring that savings from subsidy removal are prudently managed for national development rather than returning to a policy that had proved unsustainable.
The African Democratic Congress challenged the Federal Government to account for the N15.8tn in additional revenues it said accrued from the reforms, after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar plan to restore subsidy.
The National Chairman of the APC, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, warned that returning Nigeria to the old fuel subsidy regime could reverse the economic gains, with negative consequences for workers’ wages, education, infrastructure and the fiscal stability of states.
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