President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said his statement as regards removal of fuel subsidy did not imply immediate execution.
The President had during his inauguration on Monday declared oil “subsidy is gone.”
Petroleum dealers immediately capitalised on the statement to hoard or hike the price of the product to shoot up the price throughout the country.
In most places, petrol was sold from between N350- N500 as against the N180 – N230 per litre.
However, following the disappointment expressed by angry Nigerians on the social media, Tinubu had in a message posted by his Media centre clarified that he never meant, adding that the development was unnecessary.
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“The statement read: It’s important for the general public to understand that President Bola Tinubu’s claim that “subsidy is gone” is neither a recent development nor a move by his new government, the official added. He was just expressing the status quo since the previous administration’s gasoline subsidy budget was only designed to last for the first half of the year.
“This effectively implies that the federal government won’t have the funds available by the end of June to continue the subsidy system, which would lead to its termination. Although it won’t have an immediate effect, the message has led to excessive panic buying.”
The President told the people that his administration would better spend the money spent on subsidies alleviate the effects of their removal on the general population.