President Bola Tinubu has instructed Vice President Kashim Shettima, who leads the National Economic Council (NEC), to develop a strategy and initiate interventions to minimize the impact of subsidy removal on the Nigerian people. Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State made this announcement after leading a delegation of major oil marketers on a courtesy visit to the President at the State House in Abuja.
Following the meeting, Governor Abiodun, a former chairman of the oil marketers association, addressed reporters and expressed the marketers’ solidarity with the President’s decision to eliminate the N4 trillion subsidy burden. This move is expected to improve the allocation of funds to states through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). The group of marketers also pledged to donate 50 to 100 fifty-seater mass transit buses that run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) within the next 30 days, at a cost of N100 million each and a cumulative total of N10 billion. They hope that other corporate entities will follow their example.
The President’s meeting with the oil marketers took place amidst controversy and protests surrounding the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (petrol). In his inaugural speech on May 29 at the Eagle Square in Abuja, the President announced the removal of subsidy payments on petrol. He highlighted that the previous administration of Muhammadu Buhari did not allocate funds for subsidy in the 2023 budget beyond June.
Although many Nigerians anticipated that the new pricing system would take effect on July 1, queues immediately reappeared at filling stations across the country following the President’s announcement. Retail outlets began hoarding the product and increasing prices, resulting in petrol being sold for over N500 per liter nationwide due to the price adjustment by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the subsidy removal.
The scarcity of fuel has led to an increase in queues, exacerbating the traffic situation in various parts of the country and causing transportation costs to surge by more than 100%. The Organised Labour had planned a nationwide strike starting on Wednesday, but it was restrained by a court order issued on Monday, June 5, 2023. Following a meeting with the Federal Government late on Monday, the Organised Labour subsequently called off the planned strike.
