Dino Melaye, former senator of Kogi west, says the subsidy return plan of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar may reduce the price of petrol to between N400 and N500 per litre if implemented.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain spoke on
Monday during an appearance on the Democracy Today programme on African
Independent Television (AIT).
On Thursday, Atiku, the ADC presidential candidate for the
2027 elections, announced his campaign council, appointing Melaye to lead the
contact and mobilisation directorate.
In August, Atiku had said he would restore the petrol
subsidy if elected president in 2027.
Atiku, who spoke in Hausa during an interview with an ADC
media group, said the administration of President Bola Tinubu had failed to
account for the funds saved from the removal of the petrol subsidy.
However, President Tinubu faulted Atiku’s plan, saying the
proposal showed “serious ignorance of governance and economy”.
The president noted that before he assumed office, some
states struggled to pay salaries and pensions, adding that the removal of the
subsidy had made more funds available to the sub-nationals.
Meanwhile, Melaye said the ADC’s objective is to make
Nigeria more affordable through the restoration of the petrol subsidy.
“Atiku is saying he will take these things from the few
people and give them back to the people. By so doing, the possible concomitant
effect is that there will be a reduction in the price of petroleum products,”
he said.
“Once there is a reduction in price from N1,400, you will
start buying fuel at N500 or N400; definitely it’s going to have resultant
effects on every other price of goods and commodities.”
The former senator said the removal of the subsidy had
increased the cost of living, adding that Nigerians, regardless of political
affiliation, buy petrol at the same price.
“Today, there is no APC market or petrol station. We all go
to the same market. We buy fuel at N1,400. So everybody is concerned that you
have moved us from hunger into compulsory fasting. The country is completely
gone, economically and otherwise,” he said.
“What ADC is saying is that we are going to make Nigeria
affordable again by bringing back fuel subsidy,” he said.
The ADC chieftain argued that the price of petrol affects
transportation and the movement of goods and commodities.
“Everything revolves around subsidy. Once transportation is
affected, movement of goods and commodities will be affected,” he said.
“Aviation fuel is also affecting movement in the air. So,
the fuel is the interconnector to every other facet of the economy.”
He alleged that corruption, rather than subsidy itself, was
responsible for the loss of public funds.
“Ab initio, there is no subsidy. What you have is
corruption, money being stolen. So, we are replacing corruption now by
leveraging the people. What few corrupt individuals are taking away, we are
taking it back to the people,” he said.
He argued that despite the removal of the petrol subsidy,
the Tinubu administration has borrowed more than the eight-year administration
of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“During Buhari’s time, with fuel subsidy, Buhari borrowed
N87 trillion in eight years. But Tinubu, in three years without paying subsidy,
borrowed N157 trillion. Why will you be borrowing when you are making more?” he
asked.
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