The ‘Criminality Called Oil Subsidy’ Must End – Peter Obi

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party and former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi has insisted that Nigeria must end the “criminality” of fuel subsidy and focus on instruments of job creation and regenerative investments to drastically reduce the high incidence of insecurity and poverty.
Peter Obi disclosed this in a statement on Thursday evening after the Labour Party Summit which took place in Abuja.
According to him the staggering corruption has left Nigeria’s education and healthcare and other sectors in a comatose state.
Obi said, “Going forward we must look for ways to move Nigeria beyond oil. We must end this criminality called ‘oil subsidy’. Nigeria today is vastly polarized and wrecked by divisions that run deep along religious, ethnic and regional lines.
“There is a staggering level of corruption. Our universities have remained closed for over five months. While our healthcare system remains comatose, power generation and distribution are also at an all-time low.
“After we win the 2023 elections, we intend to use the instruments of job creation and regenerative investments to drastically reduce the high incidence of insecurity and poverty, while moving the economy from the consumptive to the productive mode.
He said the greatest challenge Nigeria faces beyond bad leadership is lack of elite consensus, citing that History must serve as a tool in his decision-making.
“The implosion of Nigeria has long been forecasted. Year 2023 could be a tipping point in the annals of our history. But that must not happen, even as the options before the electorate seem stark,” he warned.
The LP presidential candidate said to remove fuel subsidy, Nigerians need to trust their government into passing the cost into areas that affect human development, especially health, education and power.
In April, following the approval of a revised 2022 budget by the Nigerian Senate, what was amended was an upward review of the budget amount for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) subsidy for 2022 by N442.72billion, from N3.557 trillion to N4 trillion.