January 02, (THEWILL) – The federal government has been urged not to increase the hardship index of the country with its planned removal of fuel subsidy, adding that an increase in fuel prices would translate directly to increased cost of survival for Nigerians.
Dr Ojo Abdulqadir, who is the founder and president of Moahz Group Of Companies, a conglomerate of Moahz Oil And Gas Ltd, Moahz Engineering and Project Management Ltd, among other subsidiaries, in a statement on Sunday, advised that the furore over fuel subsidy should be strategically deployed to avoid panic and diffuse all agitations from the stakeholders that are acutely affected.
Abdulqadir noted that everybody will feel it, particularly the less privileged and that the negative effects will surely outweigh the positive.
He added that the cost of transportation across the country will skyrocket, cost of food and other things connected therewith would be hiked, hence a spiral effect on living standard of the populace; the suffering will be multi-dimensional, which may eventually result in revolts and protest across the states.
The statement reads in part: “The governments’ involvement in a major economic determinant like petroleum is pivotal to how well the country and economy functions.
“This issue of petroleum subsidy removal, I believe should be strategically deployed to avoid panic and diffuse all agitations from the stakeholders that are acutely affected.
“Yes, there have been initiatives and interventions to defray the impending shock of subsidy removal, but are these solutions being deployed on their merits?
“The CBN gas intervention fund has been touted by the handlers since its roll-out… the potential for this program is yet unmet, as there are still no commercially viable alternatives to allow the market forces achieve proper equilibrium when petrol subsidy is totally removed.
“All of that shock is transferred directly to the masses, hence the resultant agitation and panic.
“In my opinion, the government should not in the right judgement increase the hardship index of the country as an increase in fuel prices translates directly to increased cost of survival in Nigeria.”
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
