Adedokun Waliyu 
The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, has said “Nigerians shouldn’t pay more for fuel” adding that “it should be their right”.
Sowore said this during an interview on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Thursday while replying to a question on fuel subsidy. When asked if he would keep or remove fuel subsidy despite the budget deficit that would be inherited by the next leader.
He also described the subsidy on fuel as a fraud.
According to Sowore, every country in the world gives the best to its citizens.
“Norway has some of the best welfare for their citizens. Like free education, free healthcare. Nigeria is the only country at this level of oil producing stage that is punishing its citizen with the lie of oil subsidy.
“What has not happened is to have a leadership in place that can check the fraud,” he said.
Sowore described many of the companies that are involved in subsidy removal in Nigeria as “scammers”. According to him, they’ve been proven to be scammers, adding that many of them are facing international sanctions, especially those in Switzerland and other places.
“They have been made to pay huge fines to the US government when they are not even doing the kind of businesses they are doing in Nigeria,” Sowore said.
Sowore further said, “Even when you remove the subsidy, they’ll figure out a strategy again to come back and say they need more. They are holding the country by the jugular until their hands have been removed and the country controls the resources.”
The AAC presidential candidate added he will also nationalise the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
Sowore insisted that he would not remove but keep the subsidy despite the deficit budget that’ll be left by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
“What they parade as subsidy is how the economic cabals in the system have figured out how to get themselves paid for job not done. Jonathan’s administration was forced to find out that those who were collecting subsidies were not delivering fuel to Nigeria.
“One of the badges claimed to be bringing subsidised fuel to Nigeria had sunk 20 years before. All these perpetrators were all before the court, none of the cases to my knowledge has reached conviction till today.
“Those of us who have that experience on the lies that have been told to cover up subsidy know it’s a lie that is told from time to time,” he added.
Suggesting a way forward, Sowore said to have the availability of these (fuel) products, the government should fix its refineries instead of investing in private refineries like that of Dangote in Lagos.
He said, “According to the government, the only product that is subsidised is petrol. Even though diesel, kerosene, and aviation fuel are not subsidised, there is no effect as to any benefit from it. In fact not only that they can’t be found on a daily basis, their prices keep fluctuating.”
He concluded, “If subsidy is removed without any plan to support the poor people of the country, that means petrol will go to N1,000 and people who are being paid N30,000 minimum wage wouldn’t be able to survive.
“Government should not exist to make life miserable for the citizen. It should exist to find solutions to problems that are afflicting the populace. Government should not exist for palliatives but concrete leadership to bring about planned development.”
