Peter Obi of the Labour Party has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s government’s handling of the subsidy removal reforms, warning that the government will soon remove the “subsidy on air,” suggesting more draconian policies.
Mr Obi made this statement in an interview with News Central TV, which aired on Wednesday.
When asked what “mechanisms” he would put in place to ensure transparency and accountability in fuel subsidy reform management, Mr Obi said, “I’ve said it before: we have to show what is being removed and where it is being applied. You don’t know what the subsidy is today. You don’t know.”
He added, “What we are saying is subsidy (petrol) gone. Electricity subsidy gone. In fact, soon they will remove the subsidy on air. If they had the chance, they would charge us for air. We are not saying we will not do that. But tell us where it is going.”
Mr Tinubu’s administration announced the hike in petrol pump price this September.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has claimed that fuel is available nationwide despite an ongoing scarcity that has led Nigerians to endure long queues and sudden pump price increases.
Amid prolonged fuel scarcity that Nigerians have suffered and groaned over for weeks, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited raised the pump price from N680 to N855, prompting other petrol stations to jack up their prices.
“The important thing is, the product is available in the country. We believe between now and the weekend, the product will be available in the length and breadth of the country,” Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum, said recently.
Mr Obi also claimed that “we are being told there will be an increase in tax, an increase in VAT,” adding that “you hear people saying Nigeria’s tax-to-revenue and GDP ratio is low.”
“Who are you taxing? You have over 30 million people living in poverty. Are you going to tax them?” Mr Obi said.
The federal government denied any attempts to increase the VAT rate.
“The current VAT rate is 7.5 per cent and this is what the government is charging on a spectrum of goods and services to which the tax is applicable. Therefore, neither the federal government nor any of its agencies will act contrary to what our laws stipulate.
“The tax system stands on a tripod, namely tax policy, tax laws and tax administration. All the three must combine well to give us a sound system that gives vitality to the fiscal position of government.
“Our focus as a government is to use fiscal policy in a manner that promotes and enhances strong and sustainable economic growth, reduces poverty as well as makes businesses to flourish,” said Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, on Monday.
