Information Minister Idris Defends Fuel Subsidy Removal, FX Window Unification as Economic Lifelines for Nigeria 

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, on Thursday argued that the removal of petrol subsidy as well as merging of the foreign exchange windows were meant to rescue Nigeria’s economy from failing.

However, the Chairman of THISDAY and Arise TV Media Group, Prince Nduka Obaigbena, maintained that by announcing the two reforms at the same time, the economy was overwhelmed because at the time the subsidy was removed, Nigeria needed a stable exchange rate to modulate the economy.

The minister and Obaigbena spoke during Idris’ visit to the ARISE Global office in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Idris stressed that Tinubu had to take the decision to save Nigeria’s economy, which was almost moribund when the president took over, admitting that the last 14 months of this government had been challenging.

He explained that the removal of subsidy resuscitated the economy and boosted government’s revenue which almost doubled few months after the introduction of the policy and also crashed the volume of fuel product consumed in the country.

The minister remarked that the past administration did not include subsidy in the 2023 budget because it lacked the courage to take such a decisive action, stressing that by removing the underpayments, Tinubu ensured its non-provision in subsequent budgets.

He maintained that by the end of last year, government had already saved about N1.45 trillion from the removal of subsidy and the decision reduced the demand for petroleum by about 50 per cent.

According to him, this meant that either people reduced their consumption of the product or it was being diverted elsewhere before the subsidy was removed.

Idris disclosed that a border town, about 48 kilometres to Katsina had about 50 fuel stations at the outskirts, where it was confirmed that those fuel stations were a gateway to smuggling the products to neighbouring countries.

But when the subsidy was stopped, Idris pointed out that neighbouring countries stopped buying from the border towns because the price was more or less the same, stressing that they started buying again when the naira depreciated and made the cost of the product cheaper in Nigeria.

On the unification of the FX windows, the minister said that before the introduction of the policy, those who had access to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) were obtaining and selling it, making the Naira a commodity of trade instead of a means of exchange.

“Our currency became a product of speculation and this was not acceptable to the economy,” Idris said.

He also said that the removal of subsidy made money available to the federal government, which was shared by the other tiers of government and urged Nigerians to ask what the states are doing with the more money they are getting from the federation account.

The minister said that the Tinubu administration had also embarked on massive investment in agriculture, disclosing that government invested in irrigation farming in Jigawa, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara and other states and expressed the hope that in the near future food prices would come down when the farms yields start coming out, which would help stem hunger in the land.

Idris said that the administration was also encouraging the private sector investment in agriculture, disclosing that the biggest tomato farm in West Africa is located in Kebbi and cultivated by a private company, GB Foods Nigeria.

He also spoke on Tinubu’s focus on youth development, disclosing that the federal government  introduced the policy to enable youths to go to school and in addition to that introduced education loans, which could be accessed by youths who meet the criteria.

The minister spoke about Technical Support Fund targeted to support Nigerian youths who have graduated and are yet to secure jobs, stating that the fund was to enable them go into business and become self-employed.

Idris reiterated that the president was not against the protest but that the intelligence gathered before the protest indicated that it would be hijacked by those who have a different agenda and that was why government made moves to stop the protest.

He assured that by the time the policies and actions taken by government will start bearing fruits, most of the challenges, which Nigerians are complaining about would have been solved.

He also spoke about the government’s investment in the health sector and its removal of tariffs on pharmaceutical products in order to bring down their prices.

Idris added that government had embarked on road projects, including Lagos-Abuja highways; the Sokoto-Badagry highway, which would have about 63 dams, saying that the dams would generate power as well as create jobs.

Chinedu Eze

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