Adaobi Rhema Oguejiofor
The Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) has supported President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to remove fuel subsidy, saying that it could generate over N6 trillion in revenue on an annual basis.
The Director General of NECA, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, in a statement, said that over the years, fuel subsidy has neither served the interest of average Nigerians nor promoted the sustainability, growth, and competitiveness of enterprises.
In his own words, “NECA commends the policy drive of the new administration as stated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during his inaugural address. Some of the key issues raised that were relevant to the survival of organized businesses and the economy at large include the plan to unify exchange rates, the review of the multiplicity of taxes, improving accessibility and affordability of electricity, as well as the investment in infrastructure, and the removal of fuel subsidy, among others.”
Oyerinde expressed that fuel subsidy removal could unlock huge revenue, which could be channeled into infrastructural development. He also added that reports had shown that less than three percent of Nigerians benefited from the subsidy regime, advising the government that the efforts aimed at providing short-term palliatives should be fast-tracked because of its urgency.
The NECA Boss maintained that while the call for palliatives and other short-term interventions was valid, experiences over the years had shown that short-term solutions, such as the provision of mass transit busses and cash transfers, as proposed with the $800 million loan, among others, were shallow and not sustainable.