SAN FRANCISCO, October 15, (THEWILL) – The World Bank has commended the Federal Government for scrapping subsidies on petroleum products.
President of the World Bank Group, David Malpass expressed his commendation on Wednesday at the opening press conference of the 2020 International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank virtual annual meetings.
Malpass, while responding to a question on the impact of the huge youth population and rising unemployment alongside the burden of COVID-19 on Nigeria said, “I compliment Nigeria for tackling the problem of subsidies in the hydrocarbon area. By reducing those subsidies and allowing gasoline prices to rise- it is very hard for governments to do that – there are substantial benefits. It means that there are fiscal savings. It also means that there are environmental benefits that are large and it allows markets to work better and to allocate resources better. So, I think progress is being made in that area and it is valuable.”
On tackling the economic crisis the pandemic posed for Nigeria, he said that the vital steps were to strengthen the health and the education system.
ALSO READ: It IsTime To End Subsidy On Electricity Tariff- NERC
About the Author
