4th June, 2023
By Emmanuel Mogbede
Prof. Tai Balofin, the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the United States, urges Nigerians to trust President Bola Tinubu to find ways to mitigate the impact of the loss of fuel subsidies.
He stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, adding that the issues associated with the development will be resolved shortly.
As a result, he urged Nigerians to be patient with Tinubu’s administration in the withdrawal of gasoline subsidies, saying that it was all in the best interests of the country.
President Tinubu had stated during his inaugural speech on May 29 that the Federal Government could no longer continue fuel subsidies.
With the elimination of fuel subsidies, petroleum pump prices are now fixed at N540 per litre as opposed to N195, a move that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned.
The NLC announced a statewide strike on Wednesday in order to force the government to rethink its decision.
NLC warned that it would not change its decision to withdraw if the government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited did not reverse the increase in the price of petrol to its previous level.
“I just want to plead with all Nigerians to be patient and have an understanding of the situation,” Bolofin said.
While appealing to Nigerians to be patient with government, Bolofin said though they resided abroad, they felt the pains of Nigerians.
According to him, Nigerians in the Diaspora could perfectly relate to the pains Nigerians were passing through back home.
He expressed confidence that the Federal Government under Tinubu was working a way round the situation.
“I trust that the president will put some measures in place to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal so it does not go overboard,” he said.
However, Balofin explained that in other countries, especially in the United States, the cost of fuel ranges from $3.40 to $3.50 per gallon when compared to what we buy in Nigeria.
“Again, the important thing is that if there is fuel, even if it is expensive, it is going to balance the equilibrium as soon as possible.
“But I trust President Tinubu is a strategic person who knows what to do and how to manage Nigerians and resources. I believe we will start enjoying the benefit any time soon,” he said.
Furthermore, he noted that the decision to remove the subsidy was collectively taken by stakeholders, including members of the House of Representatives who had gone through the rudiments of the removal.
It was therefore, the responsibility of the lawmakers to appeal to Nigerians about the positive impact of the removal, he added.
Also, Mr Tunde Doherty, a chieftain of APC U.S.A, said the United Kingdom did not pay subsidies on its petroleum products.
He described petrol subsidy as an ‘infectious enjoyment’ that had been allowed to thrive for too long in Nigeria.
“We have to be very factual and truthful to Nigerians at the start of this regime, fuel subsidy has not helped us in any way.
“Rather it has become a kind of infectious enjoyment in Nigeria because the determinant of pricing is the marketers.
“Now that there is no subsidy, I agree that it might be very difficult for people at this time, but I can tell you that President Tinubu is in charge of the situation.
“Within the next few months, he will cushion the effect of what Nigerians have suffered,” Doherty assured.
He said, in the United Kingdom and the United States, prices of petroleum products were not equal because there was no subsidy anywhere.
“In the UK today, we have Costco Oil selling for £1.3 and we have Sabre (Oil and Gas) selling for £1.7. So it is a liberalised economy with petrol.
“We cannot continue to let Nigerians suffer, we have to start by telling them the truth about oil subsidy. It does not take us anywhere. It is just pretentiously putting us in a future we cannot predict.
“There is no subsidy where we live in the Diaspora and we enjoy fuel, we have never experienced fuel scarcity. The time for us to enjoy that Renewed Hope is here,” Doherty stressed.
NAN