Otega Ogra, senior special assistant to the president on digital and new media, says the subsidy plan of Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), will cost the country N19.1 trillion annually.
Ogra spoke when he appeared on a TVC News programme on
Tuesday.
On August 25, Paul Ibe, Atiku’s spokesperson, suggested that
an Atiku administration would reintroduce petrol subsidy for a period before
eventually phasing it out.
Later that day, Atiku clarified that his proposed
restoration of petrol subsidy will not have a predetermined withdrawal date.
He also said his plan on petrol subsidy remains unchanged
and he will not hesitate to restore it if elected president.
Commenting on Atiku’s position, Ogra said the former
vice-president’s subsidy plan would put Nigerians’ money in the hands of
billionaires.
“So for Alhaji Atiku, my question to you here is, where are
the barrels for your subsidy going to come from? Where is the money that you’re
going to give to your billionaire friends using your own plan?” Ogra said.
“I’ve not even mentioned before, your plan for subsidies,
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, it will cost Nigeria N19.1 trillion, according to
estimates.
“You failed to put the estimates in your plan, you failed to
put the cap in your plan, you failed to put how many barrels of oil Nigeria is
going to need in your plan.”
The presidential spokesperson said at $80 per barrel of
crude oil, Nigeria would need to subsidise it by about $40.
“So calculate that. It comes to about N19.1 trillion per
year, N52.3 billion daily, N1.5 trillion monthly. And for every time you
breathe or before you even complete a breath, it’s going to cost you N605,000
per Nigerian,” he said.
“The amount of money, N19.1 trillion, at the amount that was
shared in FAAC for July, that would pay the entire N70,000 minimum wage for a
year for 22 million Nigerians.”
OGRA: NIGERIA NO LONGER SPENDING MONEY IT DOESN’T HAVE
Ogra said the most important thing the administration has
done is to ensure that Nigerians no longer pretend that the country is spending
money it does not have.
“Before Mr. President came in in 2023 and undertook his
reforms, we all know what was happening in the economy: rent-seeking,” he said
“A few Nigerians were taking all the commonwealth of
Nigerians, using various fraudulent schemes like the FX arbitrage that was
there, the rent-seeking on the subsidy programs.”
Ogra added that Atiku’s position that he would reintroduce
subsidy “was a very ignorant take and shows a lack of knowledge”.
He said it was “an uneducated take” on the economy and how
it should run.
“It’s very interesting that Frank Shuaibu, the spokesperson
to Mr. Atiku, also said before that Alhaji Atiku thinks before he acts or
before he takes a decision. That plan to introduce the subsidies has
impoverished Nigerians for over six decades,” Ogra said.
“That plan falls flat on its face. It does not show that the
presidential candidates of the ADC actually thought through the plan before
they did anything. And we have seen the results of his thinking before.”
On August 19, Taiwo Oyedele, minister of finance and
coordinating minister of the economy, said petrol subsidy savings mobilised
N15.8 trillion in resources for the federation between June 2023 and December
2025.
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