Group Advocates Complete Abolition Of Fuel Subsidy

A Non-Governmental
Organisation (NGO), in Aba, the Friendship Heritage Club of Nigeria, has  called for the complete abolition of fuel subsidy in Nigeria.
Chairman of the group, Dr Festus Okoye, who spoke at a news conference alleged that fuel subsidy had been aiding corruption in the oil and gas sector.
He said that the removal would check the alleged corrupt practices of petroleum marketers and government officials who fleece the nation through fuel importation deals.
“This unfortunate lack of will resulted in a number of detrimental consequences such as persistent fuel scarcity with attendant long queues and loss of time, corrupt practices of marketers and government officials.
“Again, subsidies have been mounting needless pressures on meagre government finances and depleting our foreign reserves with attendant consequences on other aspects of the economy.
“The subsidy regime discourages competitive investments in the downstream sector of the industry and encourages sharp practices which stifles the economy”, he said.
Okoye however noted that the group was not speaking for anybody or political party, and charged Nigerians and the media to hold the leaders accountable at all times.
“Nigerians must learn to hold their leaders accountable. The media must help us do this because if we cannot hold them accountable, then we will miss the benefits of this fuel subsidy removal.
“We should know our leaders and representatives and call them to question and also tell them what we want them to do for us. But if we would not, we will suffer it”, they said.