I’ll Look Into Issues Of Subsidy Removal – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari said on Monday that he was going to carefully study all the documentary issues tabled before him on the need to remove subsidy on petroleum products.

Buhari, however, noted that his administration would handle the issue of subsidy on petroleum products with care because some of the literature penned down for him on the subsidy regime were not detailed.

The President spoke after receiving a briefing from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other agencies in the oil sector.

Buhari said, “I have received many literatures on the need to remove subsidies, but much of it has no depth.

“When you touch the price of petroleum products, that has the effect of triggering price rises on transportation, food and rent. That is for those who earn salaries, but there are many who are jobless and will also be affected by it.”

Malam Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, noted in a statement that the President also described insecurity, sabotage, vandalism, corruption and mismanagement as the most serious problems of Nigeria’s oil sector and not necessarily subsidy only.

Buhari promised to deal decisively with all identified problems of the oil and gas sector saying, “We have to go back to the good old days of transparency and accountability.”

The President directed NNPC to review existing agreements for the swapping of crude oil for refined products with a view to injecting more honesty and transparency into the process in order to reduce costs.

According to Shehu, the President also asked NNPC management to do more to improve the supply of liquefied petroleum gas (cooking gas).

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