Fuel Subsidy Removal: Tinubu Meets Oil Marketers

On Wednesday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had a meeting with major oil marketers at the Presidential Villa in Abuja over the removal of subsidy.

On May 29, Bola Tinubu announced the removal of the subsidy payment on fuel during his inauguration at Eagle Square in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

Since then, the cost of the goods has increased, which has caused transportation costs across Nigeria to skyrocket.

Tinubu has finally met with oil marketers while also directing the National Economic Council (NEC), led by Vice President Kashim Shettima, to devise an approach and begin the process of working on interventions to mitigate the impact of subsidy removal on Nigerians.

Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, stated this after leading some major oil marketers on a courtesy visit to the President at the State House in Abuja.

Addressing correspondents after the meeting, Abiodun, who is a former chairman of the oil marketers association, stated that the marketers expressed solidarity with the President for removing the N4 trillion subsidy burden.

He said this is a move that can enhance the Federation Account Allocation Committee’s (FAAC) allocation to states.

The group of marketers subsequently announced their intention to donate 50 to 100 fifty-seater mass transit buses that would run on CNG, costing N100m each and N10bn cumulatively, to cushion the effect of the removal within the next 30 days.

On the other hand, the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (ABAT) Media Centre disclosed that state governors on Wednesday expressed strong support for the president’s decision to end fuel subsidy payments in the country and other early policy initiatives of the administration.

The governors, who took turns to speak when the President hosted members of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), led by its chairman, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, at the State House, expressed happiness with the President’s subsidy-removal decision, all-inclusive leadership, and statesmanship.

They congratulated President Tinubu for tackling the fuel subsidy behemoth, promising to work with him to ameliorate the short-term impact of the decision.

Tinubu had earlier called on the governors to collaborate with the Federal Government in tackling the menace of poverty in the country, saying the level of impoverishment was unacceptable.

He advised the political leaders to downplay their differences and jointly focus on alleviating the sufferings and pains of the people.

“We can see the effects of poverty on the faces of our people. Poverty is not hereditary; it is from the society. Our position is to eliminate poverty.

“Set aside partisan politics, we are here to deliberate about Nigeria and nation-building,” he said, insisting that the nation should be seen as one big family.

“We are a family occupying one house, and sleeping in different rooms. If we see it that way and push forward, we will get our people out of poverty. A determined mind is a fertile ground for delivering on results,’’ he added.