President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, met with major oil marketers over the removal of the petrol subsidy.
The delegation of oil marketers was led by Dapo Abiodun, governor of Ogun State.
Abiodun said the marketers were at the presidential villa in Abuja, in solidarity with Tinubu for his bold decision to end subsidy payment.
At the meeting, the governor said Tinubu directed the National Economic Council (NEC), led by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, to kickstart the process of working on interventions to ameliorate the impact of the subsidy removal on the people.
He said Tinubu’s action shows his determination and courage to remove the haemorrhage that had bedevilled the country for decades.
Abiodun admitted that, while citizens will experience some discomfort, the move would eventually pay off. The governor also said the marketers’ CNG buses, which would be provided at the cost of about N10 billion, would support the success of the initiative.
The politician stressed that any actions taken — such as an increase in the minimum wage, transportation allowances, or intervention programmes — will only serve as temporary solutions.
According to Abiodun, the real solution lies in transitioning to clean energy for the entire country.
He said diesel and petrol-powered vehicles are no longer feasible, urging Nigeria to follow the example of other countries like Egypt, where mass transit runs on CNG and electricity.
“These will be what will be sustainable that will allow us to transport people, goods, and services at prices that are reasonable,” the governor said.
“That is the kind of thing that we are looking at, the kind of discussions that we’re having with Mr. President, and the kind of approach that this administration is looking at in terms of sustainability.”
Abiodun noted that some states have already introduced some interventions including reducing working days, assuring that the subsidy removal would make more money available to states through the Federation Account Allocation Commission (FAAC).
On her part, Winifred Akpani, chairman of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN), said the subsidy removal was an opportunity they had long waited for while she lauded Tinubu’s courage and boldness.
Akpani, also the managing director of Northwest Petroleum & Gas Company Limited, noted that the decision to scrap under-recovery payments was to reposition the country, and not about making transportation more expensive.
Reiterating the notion that Nigeria was subsidising petrol for the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa, the DAPMAN chair said prices of fuel “in all the neighbouring countries have shot up with only Niger Republic selling the cheapest at about N580 per litre because” following the president’s speech on under-recovery.