The Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, has established that President Muhammadu Buhari has not directed anyone in his administration to implement the removal of petroleum subsidy.
This is coming just after the statement made in October 2021, by the Minister for Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, that the federal government would only make provision for petroleum subsidy for the first 6 months of 2022 as the administration moves towards the complete deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil industry.
This was made known by Lawan, while briefing State House Correspondents after meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, to convey the concerns of his constituents on various issues including the proposed removal of subsidy.
The Senate President said that lawmakers are worried about the agitations and protests across the country on the matter, which prompted the discussion with the President. He said he was glad to inform Nigerians that President Buhari has not instructed anyone to remove fuel subsidy.
Lawan said, “He didn’t tell anybody that we should go remove petroleum subsidy. And those of us who represent the people know how people are already stressed over and again . . . it is going to be too much for them.’’
Going further, he raised doubts over claims that Nigerians consume 100 million litres of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) daily, attributing such level of consumption to smuggling activities.
The Senate President explained that while it is impossible to consume that much within the boundaries of the country alone, there is a need to critically investigate to discover the truth.
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