“Removal Of Subsidy Will Attract Foreign Investment”

Minister of Defence Bello Mohammed says the Federal Government’s removal of the fuel subsidy will pave the way for foreign investments in the petroleum sector.

The minister said this while addressing the ministry’s staffs on Friday in Abuja.

Mohammed, who was represented by Mr Linus Awute, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, said that the removal of the subsidy would boost the creation of jobs as witnessed in the GSM revolution.

“Contrary to the prophets of doom, there would be enough petrol in our filling stations at competitive prices; more refineries would be established by the private sector.

“Government for years has been subsidising the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to the tune of N1.134 trillion annually, which is about 15 per cent of the nation’s annual budget,” he said.

Mohammed said that the only beneficiaries of the subsidy constituted only about .005 per cent of the population.

“A greater majority of our people in the towns and villages do not own cars or sell petrol, and they do not benefit from the petroleum subsidy,” he noted.

According to the minister, the deregulation of the downstream sector can never affect the poor.