A Chieftain of the All-Progressive’s Congress (APC) and former Delta State House of Assembly Member, Efe Ofobruku, has said that subsidy on petroleum products is still being paid, but the amount that is being paid to subsidise petroleum products is not as much as it used to be before.
Honourable Ofobruku made this revelation in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday where he was discussing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s policies and economic reforms amidst the rising economic hardships and food insecurity in the country.
The Chieftain then confirmed the suspicions that subsidy on petroleum products had been brought back into the system as he said, “If at all there is any gap in terms of the cost of bringing in PMS and all of that, it must have arisen from the current exchange rate. And if you have to say, okay, dollar is 1,500, let us do it a 1,500 per litre for drop of petroleum product that comes into Nigeria, you will realise that even the N608 that is being sold in Lagos- it is being sold for N700 in Warri, Delta state- even the N608 that it is being sold in Lagos today, we may not be able to achieve that.
“So, to that extent, it is possible that some level of subsidy is being paid but may not be as huge as it used to be, because I know matter of factly that the so-called volume of petroleum products we brought in has reduced because of some measures that have been taken by government.”
Addressing the current economic hardships, the APC Chieftain said, “My view on what is on ground is what we locally call ‘chop in advance’. As a nation, we have chopped in advance, a lot of things, we have done in advance. We are facing the consequences of the decisions of the past today.
“From what we have seen, we can tell that the previous handlers took some decisions that did not go well, that is the truth, and some of those wrong decisions or poor decisions, poor judgements, they are being effectively corrected and effort is being made to see to it that we get on the agenda.”
He then went on to say that “some of the policy somersaults of the past have also led to what has put us where we are today, not necessarily only the Buhari administration.”
However, Ofobruku said that there is a “Nigerian factor” to the issues that are plaguing the country’s economy as he said, “It’s unfortunate that we have four refineries, we have oil in our soils, but we are not refining products. It’s also unfortunate that the people who work in these refineries, they’ve been earning salaries for many years for doing nothing. And they are NLC members.
“I also think that while NLC is holding the government to account, NLC should also call their members to order. Because they are producing nothing, but they are earning salaries, they are being promoted, they are going on trainings on a daily basis for being staff of refineries that are not working. These are part of the things that are also consuming money in the Nigerian economy. People get paid, people get promoted, earn allowances for doing nothing, and the refineries are there. It is unfortunate.”
Ofobruku then urged Nigerians to exercise patience with Tinubu’s economic reforms as he said, “I think the hope is on the way if you ask me. We seem to have forgotten so soon where we are coming from.
“I sympathise with President Tinubu, he has said consistently that he asked for the job, that nobody should pity him, he’s equal to the task, he can do the job. Quite frankly, it is not out of place to begin to tell Nigerians to exercise patience because definitely, we need to travel this route to be able to get out of where we are today. And in travelling this route, we will continue to appeal to Nigerians to exercise patience. I believe strongly that for once, we are taking the right step in the right direction.”
He said that the reforms that Nigerians are seeking are already being implemented, but it would not come with immediate effect.
“What Nigerians are passing through just now is the fire required to bring gold out of it, and that is what we are doing. So, it is not a case of the presidency or the leadership of the government not knowing what to do- of course they know what to do, they’re doing it. It is just that the only way to do it in this present circumstance is the route that we are taking, and it is exactly what we are doing.”
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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