‘Jonathan Halted Petrol Subsidy Removal over Fears of Boko Haram Attacking Protesters’ — Sanusi

By Micheal Chukwuebuka

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, said ex-President Goodluck Jonathan suspended the planned removal of petrol subsidy in 2012 due to fears that Boko Haram insurgents could target protesters.

Congress News recalls that the nationwide protest against petrol subsidy removal lasted for almost two weeks and grounded economic activities across the country.

Sanusi, who was governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the time, stated that the policy was misunderstood and poorly managed during the @GEJonathan era.

He spoke on Tuesday at the Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference, themed ‘Better Leader for a Better Nigeria’.

According to the emir, Nigeria’s petrol subsidy regime was effectively a “naked hedge”, where the federal government guaranteed a fixed pump price regardless of changes in global crude prices, exchange rates, or interest rates.

He said the arrangement forced the government to borrow huge sums not only to fund the petrol subsidy but also to pay interest on the loans used for it.

“If you look at the template, all of those amounts were being absorbed. The federal government was saying I have an unlimited pocket,” Sanusi said.

“So we moved from a point where we were using revenues to pay subsidies to where we had to borrow money to pay subsidies, to where we had to borrow money to pay interest on the borrowed money. We had become bankrupt.