Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, on Tuesday justified the urgent need to end fuel subsidy regime in the country, saying the policy must be phased out for the survival of the country.
According to him, the new government had anticipated that there would be serious opposition to its decision to remove fuel subsidy, but noted the pressing need to be resolute in achieving the objective.
Shettima, who made this known while speaking with newsmen on his first day in office at the State House, Abuja, stressed that Nigeria needs to get rid of fuel subsidy, otherwise the subsidy would get rid of the Nigerian nation.
He said the subsidy regime has not benefited the ordinary Nigerian, but was being used to subsidise the lifestyle of the affluent.
He assured that despite the expected opposition from beneficiaries of the subsidy regime, Tinubu, whom he described as a man of strong will and conviction, would frontally address the menace.
The vice president added: “The president has already made pronouncements on Tuesday (Monday) on the issue of the fuel subsidy. The truth of the matter is that it is either we get rid of subsidy or the fuel subsidy gets rid of the Nigerian nation.
“In 2022, we spent $10 billion subsidising the ostentatious lifestyle of the upper class of the society because you and I benefit 90 per cent from oil subsidy. The poor 40 per cent of Nigerians benefit very little and we know the consequences of unveiling a masquerade.
“We will get fierce opposition from those benefitting from the oil subsidy scam, but where there is a will, there is a way. Be rest assured that our President is a man of strong will and conviction.
“In the fullness of time you will appreciate his noble intentions for the nation. The issue of fuel subsidy will be frontally addressed. The earlier we do so, the better”, he said.
Commenting on the issue of multiple foreign currency exchange rates, the vice president assured that “we are going to collapse it into one.
He further stated that before long, Tinubu would unfold the agenda of the new administration that would benefit all Nigerians.
“So these are two big elephants in the room and as the days go by, we will be unveiling our agenda. He is going to unveil his agenda because as I have always said, there can never be two captains in a ship.
“He is the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. I’m the vice president. Your relevance is directly proportional to the level of your loyalty to the president. This is a gentleman that I have known for well over a decade; that I have interacted closely with.
“Be rest assured that we are going to work harmoniously as a team, as a family for the greater good of our nation”, he said.
Shettima said the president was poised to redefine the meaning of modern governance, saying he would provide the needed leadership, but also requested Nigerians to give him and his administration the needed support.
He said: “I believe this generation has a rendezvous with destiny and my principal, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is poised to redefine the meaning and concept of modern governance.”
Follow us on:
