President Muhammadu Buhari has provided an explanation as to why it was determined that his administration will continue providing fuel subsidies.
In a conversation with Bloomberg, President Buhari expressed his belief that the consequences of eliminating fuel subsidies would have been too severe for the people of Nigeria.
In addition to this, the President stated that efforts were being made to increase local capacity in order to alleviate the inflationary pressures.
Buhari stated that the majority of western nations are already utilising gasoline subsidies, and he added that "what is good for the goose is good for the gander."
According to him, "My government put measures to eliminate the subsidy into motion toward the end of last year."
Following more consultation with relevant parties, as well as the progression of events during this year, it became clear that such a move would not be feasible.
"Increasing the country's output of refined goods on its own will also be of assistance.
As private operators and modular refineries come on board, capacity is expected to increase significantly later this year and early in the following year.
Buhari also explained that the exchange rate is extremely "vulnerable to external shocks that can suddenly and severely affect Nigerians."
However, he added that "as we step up domestic production – both in fuel and food" the threat of inflation will decrease, and the country will be able to move closer to unification.
There is a severe lack of petrol available right now in Lagos and throughout the rest of the country.
When purchasing the goods on the underground market, customers are shelling out as much as N300 a litre in order to do so.
Tags
ECONOMY