Former Trade Union Congress president Peter Esele stated that he was not shocked that President Muhammadu Buhari’s government put the suspension of fuel subsidies on hold in June.
This was revealed by Esele on Friday during a Channels Television interview that Daily Post was watching.
Recall that despite the fact that it would save Nigeria about N6 trillion in income, the federal government had delayed the National Economic Council’s proposal to remove gasoline subsidies.
Former Trade Union Congress president Peter Esele stated that he was not shocked that President Muhammadu Buhari’s government put the elimination of gasoline subsidies on hold in June.
This was revealed by Esele on Friday during a Channels Television interview that Daily Post was watching.
Recall that despite the fact that it would save Nigeria about N6 trillion in income, the federal government had delayed the National Economic Council’s proposal to remove gasoline subsidies.
However, if the Buhari administration had wanted to gradually end the system, according to Esele, a former president of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, or PENGASSAN, the fuel subsidy would have been eliminated after one year in office.
He claims that Buhari is only making empty statements regarding the reduction of gasoline subsidies over the previous eight years since there is no political will to do it.
“I believe that this government if they wanted to eliminate fuel subsidies, would have done it in the first year of their administration when they had enormous political capital to expend,” he added. “However, since it was not done, what they have been doing over the years is kicking the can down the room.”
Industry estimates show that the Buhari government will have spent close to N10 trillion on petrol subsidies between May 2015 and May 29, 2023.