Fuel Subsidy Is Organised Crime— Peter Obi

By Sola Omoniyi, Lagos

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, has made clear that he supports ending fuel subsidies, but he has also laid out some requirements that must be satisfied to accomplish this goal.

On Tuesday, Obi reportedly spoke with the media at the Court of Appeal Headquarters in Abuja. This was said in a statement released by the Abuja-based Obi-Datti Media Office.

As a member of the President’s economic management team under the Goodluck Jonathan administration, he was reportedly quoted as saying that his support for subsidy elimination dates back to that time.

“If you have been following me closely, you will know that I have insisted that the subsidy should be eliminated since I view it as an organised crime ever since I joined Jonathan’s economic management team. People were merely looting the nation’s resources, and I demonstrated empirically in my statistical study that we do not consume as much fuel as they claim,” Obi stated

Now that they are equating him with the two options given to someone suffering from a toothache, the former governor of Anambra state has distinguished his idea of subsidy removal from what is now taking place in the nation.

He stated that if you visit a dentist to have a difficult tooth extracted, the dentist will first apply a local anaesthetic to the surrounding area to make you feel no pain.

The pain you experience won’t be the same as if you had pulled the tooth forcibly, it should be noted.

The LP presidential contender added, “As for myself, I will support the dentist’s method while supporting the extraction of the tooth since I wouldn’t want to endure the discomfort of forcible removal.

“Recall that they came up with different alleviating measures, such as SureP and others, even though Jonathan wished to abolish it.

“If you read my manifesto, you will see how I intended to eliminate subsidies. I would rule in partnership with the people and demonstrate to them statistically and empirically what we are receiving and how we are using it.

“The issue in Nigeria is that people don’t always see the fruits of their suffering and sacrifice when they say, ‘”Let’s go and suffer, let’s go and sacrifice.”‘