By Saidu Abubakar
Although Prof. Emeritus Wumi Iledare (PEWI) remains convinced that the old petroleum subsidy regime presented serious fiscal and governance problems, acknowledging those problems does not oblige anyone to defend every consequence of the policy that replaced it.
Commenting on a publication “No Regrets Removing Subsidy” the petroleum economist insisted that if additional fiscal resources have been generated, Nigerians are entitled to know how they have been used.
Valuechain reports PEWI as saying “Nor should those who supported subsidy removal be expected to remain silent when the promised benefits are not adequately demonstrated.
“We must be willing to confront the possibility that a policy can be economically defensible in principle but poorly implemented in practice. The ultimate test is not whether the government removed the subsidy. It is whether the reform has made Nigeria more productive, more equitable, and better governed,” he further stated.
“If infrastructure projects have been completed, the government should publish the costs, completion records, and evidence of their benefits. If social-protection programmes have reached vulnerable households, the government should disclose the number of beneficiaries, the value of support, and the impact on their welfare.
“If these outcomes have not materialised, the government should explain why, identify the institutional failures, and provide a credible corrective plan.”
Prof. Iledare who has over 25 years of oil and gas experience spanning both practice and research further said that the burden of proof rests on those who promised that subsidy removal would release resources for national transformation. “That’s why the public should not have to infer success from speeches, projections, or announcements. It should be able to see the evidence.”
He said if that evidence does not demonstrate that Nigerians are receiving meaningful benefits, the government must be held accountable. But going back to “Egypt” is not a good idea, he warned.
PEWI is former President of the United States Association for Energy Economics (USAEE) and is also a Visiting Professor of Petroleum Economics at the Institute of Petroleum Studies (IPS) in the University of Port Harcourt, and the African University of Science and Technology, Abuja.