20 March 2014, Abuja – It has been observed that despite the fact that the planned removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government may serve as a political currency for some politicians, it is a recipe for economic downturn that will be unprecedented.
Peter Akpatason (APC, Edo) made this observation Wednesday against the backdrop of the proclamation by the minister of petroleum, Mrs Diezani Allison-Madueke that the subsidy regime will not subsist in not too distant future.
According to Akpatason, as a politician, the removal of fuel subsidy is a welcome development “because some people will benefit,” but “economically it is wrong.”
“We must stop it. We must address all the failures that occasioned it. Unfortunately, these failures have not been addressed. The refineries are not working. There should be a planned programme for the withdrawal of subsidy, any therapy that doesn’t take account of the root cause of a problem cnnot be able to address it,” the legislator offered.
– This Day