Fuel Subsidy: Why Govt is right and wrong
Analysis:
By Yemie Adeoye On Tuesday October 4, President Goodluck Jonathan forwarded to the National Assembly a 2012 Fiscal Strategy Paper, FSP, with plans to commence the withdrawal of fuel subsidy from next year and save the country well over N1.2 trillion annual spends on fuel subsidy.
This simply means that 4 months from now petrol will sell for between N165 and N200 taking into cognizance the projected devaluation of the naira which some finance experts have said would be witnessed through January 2012 when government intends to deregulate.
From the moment the paper was read on the floor of the Senate the entire nation has been thrown into a state of confusion with Nigerians begging to know if it is a right move or not. Hence public attention has concentrated on the issue of subsidy and deregulation of the downstream oil sector since then.
There has been diverse views on the legitimacy of such move at this point in our national life. While some reasoned that Government is right on the move others opined that it is not well thought out by Jonathan and his Advisers.
In 2010, subsidy payments alone gulped about N1.3 trillion, which represents about 24 percent of the entire budget and in a mono-dependent economy which begs for infrastructural development this can best be described as a misnomer. Previous governments have tried unsuccessfully to bring about the deregulation of the downstream sector which would see an end to fuel subsidy. However the move by the Jonathan-led federal government to bring this knotty issue to bear at this time in our national live has been welcomed in various quarters even as some sees it as long overdue…
Copyright, Blaise APLOGAN, 2010,© Bienvenu sur Babilown
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