By Samuel Olusegun Precious
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, says his administration will restore petroleum subsidies after tackling corruption in the country.
Obi, who disclosed this in a statement on Monday, said the current removal of subsidy has not translated into any benefit for Nigerians due to corruption and mismanagement in the oil sector.
According to him, subsidy in itself was not the problem, but the massive corruption that was associated with its administration.The NDC presidential candidate said once his government succeeds in curbing corruption and ensuring transparency in the management of the oil sector, the subsidy regime will be restored to ease the hardship faced by ordinary Nigerians.
He argued that Nigerians have been subjected to untold hardship since the removal of fuel subsidy by the present administration, with no corresponding improvement in their living conditions. Obi maintained that a transparent subsidy framework would protect consumers while still ensuring accountability in the petroleum industry.
President Bola Tinubu, in his inaugural address on May 29, 2023, declared subsidy gone and skyrocketed the prices of PMS from average of less than two hundred naira per litre to over almost a thousand naira, rising over 500% increment with its multiplier effects on transportation and other costs.
ADC’s presidential candidate,Atiku Abubakar had earlier promised to remove restore subsidy on local crude oil to boost local production.
