By Douglas Okoro
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi, Dr Paul Okorie, has described as commendable, the proposed plan by the Federal Government to remove petrol subsidy.
Okorie, who is a former Commissioner for Works, Housing and Transportation, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki on Monday.
He further described the plan as a “welcome development”.
He said: “For me, it is a good development.
“Good development in the sense that there has been so much controversy surrounding the quantity of petrol being consumed and amount being paid.
“But all these can be put to rest once subsidy is jettisoned.”
Okorie said that the “vibrant economic policy” would help steer the economy back to greatness.
He argued that the trillions of naira spent by the government to pay subsidy would be injected into the economy.
He, however, advised the Federal Government to put adequate measures in place to cushion the adverse effects of the subsidy removal on the ordinary Nigerians.
“Petrol is the commonest of all the petroleum products and people depend on it for both industrial and domestic purposes.
“You need fuel for transportation, to power the generator for both domestic and industrial use.
“The effect of subsidy withdrawal will be felt so badly by the people, if adequate measures were not put in place before it is finally removed,” he said.
He further advised the Federal Government to ensure that the savings from the subsidy removal should be invested in critical sectors of the economy, such as infrastructure, health and education.
Okorie, who is also a former Commissioner for Environment, urged the Federal Government to ensure that the refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna were made to operate optimally.
He also urged the government to grant licences to the operators of modular refineries to end fuel importation.
Okorie attributed the high cost of petrol in the country to the dependence on the importation of refined petroleum products.
According to him, the problem will be addressed once the nation’s refineries begin to function.
“The dollar continues to appreciate against our naira because we are depending so largely on importation of the products that we consume,” he added. (NAN)
