Former presidential aide and Arise Television’s Morning Showanchor, Reuben Abati, has criticised the Federal Government’s 30-day petrol discount, saying the administration acted too late to provide relief to Nigerians.
Abati said the temporary nature of the intervention raised
questions about what would happen after the 30-day period.
He also questioned the government’s continued borrowing
despite its decision to remove the petrol subsidy, which was partly justified
as a measure to increase revenue and curb corruption.
The Federal Government announced a 30-day petrol discount as part of efforts to provide relief to Nigerians amid concerns over fuel prices and the rising cost of living.
Speaking on Friday, Abati said the government needed to
explain how the proposed discount would be funded and who would bear the cost.
He added that the government’s continued borrowing had
raised concerns about the expected financial benefits of subsidy removal.
The broadcaster called on the government to publish details
of its price modulation plan, including the funding arrangements and the
parties responsible for bearing the cost of the intervention.
He maintained that the proposal had left several questions
unanswered, arguing that the administration could have introduced the
intervention earlier.
Abati said: “The other issue is that it is temporary, okay,
for 30 days. After 30 days, what happens?
“And then, you know, the other contradiction is that when
the subsidy was removed, the government said part of the reason was to save
revenue and curb corruption.
“But the same administration has been borrowing on a large
scale since then, and people have been asking: If you remove the subsidy to
generate more revenue, how are we now in this kind of situation?
“There is still a lot to be said, but the government still
needs to take a step further and publish the details of the price modulation
plan, including who is going to pay and who is going to bear the cost of all
this.
“There are more questions than answers in what has been
proposed. But in terms of intention, I’ve said that the government woke up too
late to say that it wants to help the people.
“We
could have done this much earlier, and other people would not see it as an
opportunity to attack the administration.”
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