Obi: I would’ve also removed petrol subsidy, floated naira — but not haphazardly
Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in 2023, says he would have removed petrol subsidy and floated the naira if he was elected president.
Speaking in an interview with Arise Television on Monday, Obi said he would have implemented the policies in a “gradual and organised” manner.
The former Anambra governor said everybody knows that the “criminality and corruption” associated with the petrol subsidy regime had to end.
Obi questioned the whereabouts of the funds saved from petrol subsidy since its removal, adding that the funds should have been investment in “critical infrastructure”.
He said critical areas of development have not witnessed any significant improvement since the removal of the subsidy.
Obi added that he would have negotiated with operators on a fair pricing template for the product.
“I have consistently maintained that I would have removed the fuel subsidy. If you go to my manifesto, it is there and the steps I would have taken in an organised manner,” Obi said.
“There is nothing wrong with the removal of fuel subsidy. What is wrong is the haphazard way in which it was announced and implemented.
“Since we were told that we removed it because we don’t want to borrow and that the funds will allow for investments in critical infrastructure. Billions saved. Where is it? Where is it invested in critical areas of development?
“Everybody knows critical areas of development — education, health, and pulling people out of poverty. Have any of these three improved? No.
“There is nothing wrong in floating and devaluing your currency. You do this when you have productivity.
“In all of this, I would have done the same thing in an organised manner.”
He added that he would have ramped up the country’s production capacity in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors before floating the currency.
On May 29, 2023, during his swearing-in ceremony, President Bola Tinubu announced the end of the petrol subsidy scheme.
Shortly after the announcement, the pump price of petrol moved from N190 to N500. There has been an upward trend in the price of the product that now sells at over N850.
The Tinubu-led administration also floated the nation’s currency.
Currency float is an exchange rate system where the value of the local currency is determined by market forces.
‘Nothing wrong’ – Peter Obi speaks on ‘steps’ Tinubu should’ve taken before removing fuel subsidy
By Seun Opejobi
Former Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on Monday disclosed how President Bola Tinubu should have handled the removal of fuel subsidy.
Obi said there are steps Tinubu should have taken in the removal of fuel subsidy which he did not.
Recall that Tinubu had announced an end to the fuel subsidy regime during his presidential inauguration in Abuja in 2023.
The president came under heavy criticism for the manner in which he announced the removal of subsidy on fuel.
Nigerians had said Tinubu should have put in place modalities that would cushion the effect of the subsidy removal before making the announcement.
Despite these criticisms, Obi said there is nothing wrong with Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidy because he would have done the same if he were president.
In an interview with Arise Television, Obi said: “I’ve consistently maintained that I would have removed the fuel subsidy. If you go to my manifesto, it’s there—steps I would have taken to do it in an organized manner.
“There is nothing wrong in the removal of subsidy; what is wrong is the haphazard way in which it was announced and implemented.
“Everybody knows that the subsidy regime was that of criminality.
“As outlined in my manifesto, I would have implemented subsidy removal in a structured and organised manner.
“However, the savings from subsidy removal from the Tinubu administration are not being reflected in critical areas of human development, such as education, health, and poverty alleviation.”
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