The Federal Government has been urged not to increase the economic hardship index of the country with its planned removal of fuel subsidy.
The Founder and President of Moahz Group Of Companies, Dr Ojo Abdulqadir, stated this in a statement. He advised that the furore over fuel subsidy should be strategically deployed to avoid panic.
Abdulqadir noted that everybody, particularly the less privileged, would feel the impacts and that negative effects would outweigh the benefits.
He added that the cost of transportation and other essential commodities across the country would skyrocket with a spiral effect on the living standard of the populace.
He said: “The government’s involvement in major economic determinants like petroleum is pivotal to how well the country and economy functions.
“This issue of petroleum subsidy removal, I believe, should be strategically deployed to avoid panic and diffuse all agitations from the stakeholders that are acutely affected.
“Yes, there have been initiatives and interventions to defray the impending shock of subsidy removal, but are these solutions being deployed on their merits? The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) gas intervention fund has been touted by the handlers since its roll-out.
The potential for this programme is yet unmet, as there are still no commercially viable alternatives to allow the market forces achieve proper equilibrium when petrol subsidy is totally removed.”
