The Federal Government yesterday defended the proposed fuel subsidy removal, saying that the issue would be revisited despite the criticisms that have trailed the idea.
Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, told journalists after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held in Abuja that the issue was one of the major challenges the Ministry of Information had to contend with last year during the fuel subsidy protests.
Maku said that despite the criticism of the policy by some Nigerians, majority were satisfied that its implementation was crucial to develop the oil and gas sector, as well as eliminate corruption and fraud.
He said: “Without de-regulation, there will not be a regulated downstream sector. Currently, government is losing; the people are losing because we cannot generate jobs. The potentials that the oil and gas sector could have unleashed on the country are completely truncated. But the Federal Government will not relent in its effort to convince Nigerians so as to reverse the trend of Nigerians suffering as a result of the subsidy on fuel.”
Speaking on the National Good Governance Tour, Maku described it as a huge success, saying that no state rejected it.
The minister said: “The Ministry of Information went to Niger, Plateau, Nassarawa, Benue and other states. What is crucial is that the tour has generated competition among states. This robust competition is promoting development within states and even within ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
“I believe that there must be cooperative federalism. I am not here to run down states or promote them. If there is anything wrong, we reject it. The argument that the tour is anti-progress is puerile. The Citizens Forum hosted during the tour has brought the people closer to their governments.
“What we have done with the tour is something that the media and the public should take a second look at. It is something that will engender engagement and development.”
Also speaking yesterday, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development, Alhaji Ibrahim Nahe, said that the government had earmarked N1 billion to upgrade and develop slums located in five states of the country to make them more habitable.
The states to benefit from the gesture are Lagos, Kano, Rivers, Abia and Kogi.
According to Nahe, the government was committed to ensuring that slums are transformed into better inhabitable areas.
He said that the Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development had delivered a total of 8,069 housing units in the last one year, adding that a total of 1101 Certificate of Occupancy (Cof O) were issued.
Nahe also said the ministry generated 720,228 jobs in the housing sector within the same period.
According to the permanent secretary, the ministry entered into partnership with private companies to build houses in Taraba, Gombe, Kano and some other states to enhance provision of houses for the people.
Meanwhile, former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Prof. Tam David- West, has warned President Goodluck Jonathan against increasing pump price of petroleum products under any guise.
His warning came on the heels of President Jonathan’s promise to remove the subsidy after consultation with the public.
Reacting to the development in a telephone chat yesterday, David-West told journalists that the idea of fuel subsidy was a fraud, stressing that investigations conducted by the Federal Government last year also confirmed his assertion.
He expressed disappointment over Jonathan’s new promise, saying the President was only planning to inflict more pain on the suffering Nigerian masses.
The former minister said the government had given 10 different figures on the so-called subsidy to lend credence to the alleged deceit.
source; www.oilprincee.blogspot.com
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