&w=64&q=75)
A former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, has advised the President Bola Tinubu government to come clean with Nigerians on whether it's still paying subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol.
Obanikoro, an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain and former senator who represented the Lagos Central from 2003 to 2007, said this while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
Recall that, during his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023, Tinubu announced that "subsidy is gone," causing an immediate jump in the price of the essential commodity from around ₦184 to over ₦600.
The former minister's comments come amid claims by stakeholders and analysts in the downstream sector that the Federal Government had resumed petrol subsidy payments following the depreciation of the naira against the United States dollar.
Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited, Robert Dickerman, have all claimed that the Federal Government had surreptitiously resumed petrol subsidy payment.
In light of this, human rights lawyer Femi Falana asked the Tinubu government to confirm or deny the allegations.
Bearing his opinion on the matter, Obanikoro said, “You talk about subsidy, Mr Falana knows the price of crude in dollars and if our money, the naira has lost so much value, and crude is dollarised, evidently, there must be a cushion somewhere and to what extent is that cushion being done, I can’t speak to that; it’s somebody who is representing the government that can address that.
“But my common sense tells me that there is a gap and because of the pain in the country, the government cannot allow that lacuna to be left unfilled, hence government may chip in some amount of money to fill in that gap.
“I do believe that that needs to be communicated, no doubt about that. That is why it is important to take the people along step by step.“