LCCI Drums Support For Removal Of Fuel Subsidy

The organised private sector has expressed support for the call on the Federal Government to remove fuel subsidy.

According to the Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Muda Yusuf, payment of subsidy has created the biggest hole in the treasury.

“The biggest hole in the finances of government in the country today is related to subsidy payments. There are two components of this. The first is the actual subsidy, which is the differential between the pump price and the landing and other costs of fuel. The second (and more disturbing component) is the corruption inherent in the fuel subsidy regime.

“For several years, the economy suffered severe bleeding from this phenomenon. Although it is not clear whether there has been any policy pronouncement on whether or not to retain the subsidy regime, the truth is that it is not sustainable. It is in the overall interest of the economy and citizens for it to be discontinued,” he said.

Also commenting, Dr Godwin Ichimi, a Research Fellow at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, NIIA, disclosed that fuel subsidy is not economically sustainable, especially with the activities of a “callous cartel.”