Fuel Subsidy removal

[gogannaka]

By January 1,the federal Govt. Under the able leadership Of Goodluck E Jonathan would have removed the subsidy on petroleum Products.
The market and the international prices of crude oil will determine the price of petroleum products in the country.
According to the government,the subsidy drains the economy by nothing less that 1.3trillion Naira and this money could be utilized to develop infrastructure and the economy.
Recently the CBN governor went through hell because of his statement that the National assembly consumed 25% of the recurrent budget of the country. Also recent revelations indicate that about 70% of the whole budget is spent on running government.
Is it justifiable to remove Fuel subsidy,which impacts directly on everyone while allowing the other excesses(which benefit a select few) to continue?

[bakangizo]

The issue really is not about removing subsidy. Because in reality fuel subsidy is an income leakage to d govt. Some select few are just feeding fat on the nation. But the critical question that should concern us is, how would the "saved" funds be utilized?

[Dan-Borno]

God!!! i was at the village yesterday and this issue came up while I
was speaking with a friend on the phone.  After the conversation was
over, my uncle queried if mtn is awarding me free credits to spent on
useless talks, he said, here in the village, the first thing we learnt is
"flashing" and with as little as N50.00 we will continue flashing you guys
in the city, we cant afford to recharge. 

He was so curious to know what we are discussing on the phone and I
told him that the Government is trying to remove subsidy on petroleum
products as from next year.  It took me 20 minutes to explain to him
what subsidy is and how it is going to affect the economy and the reasons
advanced by Government to remove it.  At last, he asked me what i
brought to him from the city, after all, whether subsidy or no subsidy, we
have been living in this village for donkey years without any progress. 
He clearly mentioned that  it is us that leaves in the city benefit from oil
revenue - period.

Dan-Borno's take on oil subsidy
Reference to my village uncle's comment above, this is only a grand style
by the ecorrupt elites to further continue siphoning our public money to their
pockets.  If the federal, state and local government cannot manage the little
funds at their disposal, how about when the big fat cow is so fat that it cannot
even move a step?

This is all bull-shit, the life of the average daily life of a Nigerian is determined
by the local price of petroleum.  If a litre is sold for N200.00 today, I bet you
transportation from Maiduguri - Lagos will go up from N5,500.00 to only God
knows how much.  The pickup van i sent to the village to do kabu-kabu from
Ngetra to Gubio Central will have to be reviewed seriously, i dont know if the
villagers can even afford  it, which means coming to the weekly market will be
impossible for most of the villagers thereby affecting the sale of beans, groundnut
goat etc which the villagers heavily rely for their daily income.

Yes, it is practiced in most developed countries, but is Nigeria developed enough
to practice it?

[gogannaka]

I had a lengthy discussion with a friend who just concluded a masters degree in renewable energy from the University of Aberdeen.
He gave me some examples from discussions and lectures they've had with CEO's of the IOC's (international oil companies) and to be frank,there is too much international pressure on Nigeria to remove fuel subsidy. Whether Nigerians like it or not this fuel subsidy is going. It is a carrot and stick option given to us. What the organised labour should concentrate on is the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (the Rilwanu Lukman Version).

[bakangizo]

Am neither 'for' nor 'against' subsidy removal, strictly speaking. Both sides' arguments have merits. If not bcos of d lack of confidence nigerians have in their leaders (and justifiably so), this should not generate so much controversy and resistance. So now, when will Mr. Subsidy's 'tenure' expire? Mun gaji. We've been hearing about him, threatened with him by successive govts for years now. So for God sake, give him a life term, or end his tenure now, kowa ya huta!