Mar. 19, 2014
NewsRescue
Nigeria’s oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madukwe said on Tuesday at the Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference in Abuja that the fuel subsidy must go because it only benefits the rich and not the poor.
The artificial fuel scarcity in Nigeria has been suspected to be an orchestrated plan by the government to force people with the hardship to accept a fuel subsidy removal and price hike as was in motion since January 2012 but was kicked against by popular people’s protest.
Diezani blamed the artificial scarcity of the product on hoarding, sabotage and diversion.
The official price of fuel is N97/liter. The current scarcity which has been biting and punishing Nigerians for two months began abruptly in conspiracy style. The plan is to remove the fuel subsidy to jack up the price per liter to N140 at least, the unsubsidized rate.
The government of Nigeria has no money left. It cannot meet up with its requirements and commitments. More than two thirds of the nations oil earnings is looted under this government. The holes are just too many and the Jonathan government cannot and has no plan to shock them, thus additional revenue is needed; this is to come from the removal of the fuel subsidy which is the only break Nigerians get and benefit from the government.
The price of fuel in Ghadafi’s Libya was 0.19 cents a liter due to government subsidies.
On the kerosene subsidy which Nigerians demand she remove, and which does not help Nigerians but is only a path for looting of billions of dollars annually by Diezani Madukwe and the NNPC, the minister did not comment.
Nigerians have been pressing for the kerosene subsidy to be removed. Kerosene is sold at the pump for N140/liter, which is the unsubsidized cost, however government subsidy on the product should make the sale price N40.9/liter. Through this scam the minister and NNPC’s oil retailer cabal steal N100 on average per liter sold. if this subsidy is removed, kerosene will be sold at the same price and the price will not jack up as will fuel, however the nation will recover subsidy transferred to the cabal to the tune of $4.3 million daily.