***Insists it is an organised crime
By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
For the umteempt time the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Peter Gregory Obi has said that payment of fuel subsidy in Nigeria is an organised crime, promising to abolish it on his first day in office as the elected President of Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Obi made the promise when he and his Vice Presidential candidate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed appeared on Channels Television live programme ‘People’s Townhall 2023’ monitored in Abuja on Sunday night.
He said he will stop with immediate effect the payment of fuel subsidy by the government on May 29, 2023 if he is voted into the office as the next President of Nigeria, pointing out that the Nigerian people have been short-changed by the payment of the so-called fuel subsidy by successive governments.
According to him such payments are nothing but a big fraud, adding that it does not make any economic sense to be paying the huge amount of money on fuel subsidy in Nigeria while little amount of money is budgeted for the education, health and Infrastructural development.
Said he: “I assure you that l will remove fuel subsidy in my first day in office. What they are saying we are consuming is not true. Look, we are the same population with Pakistan and they are not consuming the amount of fuel they are saying we are consuming in Nigeria.
“So I will give those who are involved in this fuel subsidy racketeering water to drink because that is what they are supposed to drink to leave our fuel alone”.
The former Anambra state governor also said:
“the so-called fuel subsidy payments of trillions of naira is an organised crime. I have been shouting on top of my voice that fuel subsidy payment is an organised crime against the citizens of Nigeria.
“I will remove it on the first day in office. Look, I have said it that we are consuming more fuel than required. I can’t agree on the daily consumption figures they are giving us.
“Those who are benefiting from the fraud will be made to drink water because that is what they supposed to drink to leave our fuel alone”.
Obi also revealed that the government he and Datti Baba-Ahmed will form on May 29 will fund heavily Education, Youth and Women’s Development, Security, Agriculture and Infrastructural Development.
Meanwhile, Obi disclosed that the newly constructed Dangote Refinery in Lekki, Lagos do not have crude oil supply to refine in the new facility, blaming it on the mismanagement of the country’s oil resources.
“Can you imagine that even the newly constructed Dangote Refinery in Lekki, Lagos state has no crude oil to refine. This is happening in Nigeria that produces crude oil and natural gas. This is where we find ourselves but if I and Datti Baba-Ahmed are voted into the office, we will make Nigeria work for all Nigerians”, Obi said.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Vice Presidential candidate who became emotional why making his pitch said the government under Obi and himself will run will turn Nigeria around within the shortest possible period.
He told Nigerians in the ‘People’s Townhall 2023’ the Labour Party government will revise the brain drain as many Nigerians in diaspora especially the experts are waiting to see if a good government they can trust will be installed for them to come back home to invest.