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El-Rufai, Soludo, Sanusi Insist On Fuel Subsidy Removal

Published

2 years ago

May 10, 2023

The Kaduna State Governor Malam Nasir El-Rufai and his Anambra counterpart, Prof. Charles Soludo, have urged the Federal Government to end the fuel subsidy regime which has negatively affected Nigeria’s economy.

The governors made the call on Tuesday in Abuja during a panel session at the policy conversation on “How Nigeria Can Build a Post-Oil Economic Future”.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the symposium was jointly hosted by Agora Policy, a Nigerian Think Tank and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

It also featured the presentation of a recently published book titled “Economic Diversification in Nigeria: The Politics of Building a Post-Oil Economy”– selected as one of the Best Books of 2022 by the Financial Times.

The book was authored by Dr Zainab Usman, a senior fellow and Director of the Africa Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C.

Speaking, El-Rufai emphasised on the need to end the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as fuel and to be pragmatic about solution to the problems instead of delay.

He recalled that in 2021, the National Economic Council (NEC) gave a committee he chaired an assignment to work out a framework on what to do with the resources if subsidy was removed including how much to be raised.

He listed the components of its recommendation to include framework on investments in security, social protection, infrastructure on health and education among others.

“We worked with experts and World Bank and came out with a report on what to do with the resources which would be transperently explained to Nigerians.

“In 2021 the Federal Government ‘s budget for road was N200 billion and in 2021 we were projecting to spend N1.2 trillion on subsidy and we saw the danger and I called for its removal.

“We have a framework and the economic council agreed for it to be withdrawn because we had a clear plan on where the money should go which include federal, state and local government for interventions.

“Still it is on and currently we are looking at N6 trillion on subsidy but go and check the national budget on infrastructure on health and education, it is not up to that and does not make any sense, so we need to end the subsidy,” he advised

Soludo on his part also called for a transformational leadership and agenda adding that the new dispensation had a chance for a fresh start.

“It has to start by getting the team assembled and getting to work immediately with institutional reforms and competitive system.”

According to him, it will be necessary if we begin to mainstream case studies and utilise lessons from those case studies that worked before by replicating them.

The governor said that productive policies to achieve speed and sustainability prosperity for institutional reforms and change were the key.

Also speaking, former Central Bank of Nigeria’s Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who was a special guest, underscored the need to prepare the minds of Nigerians on bad decisions that have bankrupted the country and close that hole.

Sanusi said in order to get it right, the incoming government should place competent officials in suitable positions.

“We are going to have a government sworn in May 29 and I think we have to start stating what is expected of that government.

“What do we, as Nigerians, classify as a milestone that shows we are heading to the right direction.

“We also need a government that understands the depth of the crises that we are. We all have a responsibility of conveying the implications of the policies that we recommend.

“We need to go back to that situation where politicians respect the independence, integrity and autonomy of these institutions and where these institutions are held accountable by the law setting them up to perform duties,” he said.

Speaking, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Co-Founder, the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation and Chairman, Coronation Capital, explained that the fuel subsidy was not grounded on thinking rather it was purely political.

According to him, refining crude oil and producing refined petroleum products in Nigeria would actually drop the prices of petroleum.

He further explained that fiscal consideration, debt restructuring and massive private structure investment should be considered by the incoming government for economic growth.

The participants, who lamented on fuel subsidy removal, called for effective utilisation of resources after its removal in new dispensation. (NAN)

Related Topics:El-Rufai Sanusi Lamido Soludo subsidy

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Business

Okonjo-Iweala Reveals How Nigeria Can Dominate AfCFTA

Published

5 hours ago

September 23, 2025

Editor

The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, WTO, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, says Nigeria has what it takes to lead Africa’s new era of trade if it tackles high logistics costs, develops efficient payment systems, and invests in value addition.

Okonjo-Iweala, who was speaking on the sidelines of the WTO Public Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, said Nigeria and other African economies must speed up the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, and build stronger infrastructure to unlock billions of dollars in opportunities in manufacturing, services, and digital trade.

“The AfCFTA is a great step, but Africa trades only about 15–20 percent within itself — far below the European Union, EU’s 60 percent. We (Nigeria) need to speed up implementation so Africans trade more with each other.

“Take Lesotho: it exports around $200 million worth of textiles (jeans, etc.) to the U.S. — about 10 percent of its GDP — while Africa imports $7 billion of similar goods. Why not absorb Lesotho’s products within Africa? To unlock intra-African trade, we (Nigeria) need efficient payment systems (Afreximbank and others are working on this), better infrastructure and lower trade costs. It shouldn’t take longer to ship goods from Cape Town to Lagos than from China to Lagos.

“With critical minerals, energy, and new supply chains, plus opportunities in services and digital trade, there’s huge potential — if we invest in connectivity and implementation,” she said.

The former Nigeria’s Minister of Finance also cautioned that negative narratives about global commerce risk overshadowing recent successes achieved through multilateral cooperation.

Business

French Media Giant Canal+ Takes Over S.Africa’s Multichoice

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1 day ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

French media giant Canal+ said Monday it had taken effective control of South African television and streaming company MultiChoice, creating a group present in nearly 70 countries in Africa, Europe and Asia.

The companies said in a joint statement that the combined group will have a workforce of 17,000 employees and serve more than 40 million subscribers.

The acquisition is “the largest transaction ever undertaken” by Canal+, the statement said.

Canal+, which is already the sector’s leader in French-speaking African countries, now controls what it described as the leader in the continent’s English- and Portuguese-speaking regions.

“This acquisition allows us to strengthen our position as a leader in Africa, one of the most dynamic pay-TV markets in the world,” Canal+ chief executive Maxime Saada said in the statement.

The buyout was given a final green light by South Africa’s competition authority in late July, more than a year after Canal+ launched its bid.

Canal+ offered 125 rand ($7.2) per share for MultiChoice when it launched its offer last year, valuing the South African firm at around $3.0 billion.

Canal+ is present in 25 African countries through 16 subsidiaries and has eight million subscribers.

MultiChoice operates in 50 countries across sub-Saharan Africa and has 14.5 million subscribers.

It includes Africa’s premier sports broadcaster, SuperSport, and the DStv satellite television service.

AFP

Business

BREAKING: Nigeria’s GDP Grows By 4.23% In Q2 2025 – NBS

Published

1 day ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.23 per cent (year-on-year) in the second quarter of 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics revealed in its Q2 2025 GDP Report.

According to the report released on Monday on its website, the figure shows a significant improvement compared to 3.48 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2024 and the 3.13 per cent recorded in Q1 2025.

The figures signal a strengthening economy, driven by recent rebasing, rebound in oil production and a resilient non-oil sector.

The report said, “Following the rebasing of the Gross Domestic Product using 2019 as the base year, previous quarterly GDP estimates were benchmarked to the rebased annual estimates to align the old series with the new rebased estimates

“This procedure provided a new quarterly GDP series, which is compared to the 2025 second quarter estimates. Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.23% (year-on-year) in real terms in the second quarter of 2025.

“This growth rate is higher than the 3.48 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2024. During the quarter under review, agriculture grew by 2.82%, an improvement from the 2.60% recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2024.

According to NBS, “The growth of the industry sector stood at 7.45% from 3.72% recorded in the second quarter of 2024, while the Services sector recorded a growth of 3.94% from 3.83% in the same quarter of 2024.”

The report said in terms of share of the GDP, “the Industry sector contributed more to the aggregate GDP in the second quarter of 2025 at 17.31% compared to the corresponding quarter of 2024 at 16.79%.”

It added, “In the quarter under review, aggregate GDP at basic price stood at N100,730,501.10 million in nominal terms. This performance is higher when compared to the second quarter of 2024, which recorded an aggregate GDP of N84,484,878.46 million, indicating a year-on-year nominal growth of 19.23%.”

Details later…