There shouldn’t be fuel subsidy in Nigeria – Kenneth Okonkwo

Mr Kenneth Okonkwo, the spokesperson for the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has asserted that fuel subsidy should not exist in Nigeria.

During his appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Okonkwo, however, criticised the timing of fuel subsidy removal by the President Bola Tinubu administration, describing it as ill-conceived.

He highlighted that hunger and poverty continue to afflict more than 35 million Nigerians who are struggling to secure adequate food.

Okonkwo further emphasised that the current minimum wage is insufficient, as it can only cover the cost of half a tank of fuel for civil servants who own vehicles with a 100-litre petrol tank.

He also said it is unrealistic to claim that inflation is decreasing when the prices of goods and services continue to rise.

He said: “Let us first of all analyse where Nigeria is today, so that we will appreciate the unsustainability of Tinubu’s ill-advised removal of subsidy.

“The cost of fuel per litre today is about N1,300. A Nigerian who has a vehicle with a 100-litre fuel tank would have to pay N130,000 to fill up his tank.

“N130,000 is almost twice the minimum wage of a Nigerian, meaning N70,000 paid to a Nigerian can only afford him half a tank of fuel. No rent, no food, no medical care, nothing. That is why the IMF is telling you that more than 35 million Nigerians are struggling to feed.

“No responsible or compassionate leader will sit down and accept such a level of induced poverty by this regime. Forget what you are seeing on paper. George Sylvester made it clear that when a nation’s growth rises on paper but the people sink in hunger, that is not progress. That is polished poverty.

“We are in the midst of statistics. So, what Tinubu is doing is afflicting Nigerians with poverty, and they are using the Nigerian Statistics Bureau dubiously to polish it with statistics.

“You can see how food prices are rising, transport fares are rising, everything is rising. What I am saying is, because I am an economist, that the definition of inflation is when the prices of goods are rising. So, if the prices of goods are rising and you are telling us the inflation figure is going down, that is voodoo economics.

“But what I am saying is this: if you go back to the interview I granted one day after Tinubu ill-advisedly removed the subsidy, I said he should reverse it because this will be unsustainable. It is there. I said we were reckless in going into oil subsidy, and we ought not to be reckless coming out of it.

“Why did I say it was unsustainable? I said the two principal conditions you must fulfil before you remove the subsidy are: saturate the system with fuel supply and ensure there is no monopoly.

“There ought not to be subsidy in the first place in Nigeria because oil is our product. This is what Atiku is saying.”