‘Fuel Subsidy Removal’ll Be Defeated’

Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Anti-Corruption, National Ethics and Values, James Abiodun Faleke, has said that the planned fuel subsidy removal will be defeated when the matter gets to green chambers.

Faleke, who said this during an interview with Political Platform, added that there are some powerful cabal behind the importation of petroleum products to the country which the Federal Government is afraid of.

The former Ojodu LCDA chairman added that the Peoples Democratic Party-led Federal Government since the inception of this administration, has continued to betray the nation by coming up with policies that are detrimental to the sustenance of both democracy and the people.

“The issue of fuel subsidy is another policy of government which we strongly know and believe that by the time they bring it on the floor of the House, it will fail. People are against it and it is against the survival of the our people. If actually there is fuel subsidy, we want to know. We need to make it clear to the people, let Nigerians know how much it is and let the people go and find out whether it is true or not.

“Again, has the Federal Government failed us in the repair of our refineries? Are they telling us that it is impossible to reactivate our refineries? If we are producing and have to be importing refined product, it means we have failed as a nation. Are you telling Nigerians that we cannot build new refineries in two or three years? These are issues that we need to debate on.

“As far as I am concerned, if we refine our petroleum product here, we will be paying less than what we are currently paying for the products; and why must we continue to refine our product outside? When we raised this issue on the floor of the House, we were told that some cabal were behind this and the Federal Government is afraid of the cabal in charge of this petroleum importation.

The lawmaker said he does not believe that if the subsidy is removed, it will be judiciously used, adding that there is nothing like fuel subsidy as far as he is concerned.

“The Federal Government is not subsiding anything because we don’t have the details. We don’t know the source of purchase, we don’t know the importers and manufactures of these products. Let us know, put the card on the table and let an average Nigerian know about it so that Nigerians can support whatever policy you want to come up with and not to come up with policies that are kept in secrecy, that is not going to work,” he averred.