The Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, on Tuesday said that President Muhammadu Buhari has not directed anyone in his administration to implement the removal of petroleum subsidy.
He stated this after meeting with the President in his office, disclosing that he met Buhari to convey the concerns of his constituents on various issues including the proposed removal of subsidy.
Briefing State House correspondents in Abuja, the Senate President said that lawmakers are worried about the agitations and protests across the country on the matter, which prompted the discussion with the President.
“He didn’t tell anybody that we should go remove petroleum subsidy. And those of us who represent the people know how people are already stressed over and again . . . it is going to be too much for them,” Lawan said.
Lawan further questioned the claim that Nigerians consume a hundred million litres of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) daily.
The Senate President explained that while it is impossible to consume that much within the boundaries of the country alone, there is a need to critically investigate to discover the truth.
Speaking further, he blamed the smuggling of petroleum products on the failure of the government to contain the menace, a situation that has pushed the burden of payment on the ordinary citizen.
He said, “I know and I agree that the subsidy is very heavy. But I think we must never transfer the burden to the citizens. I believe that we need to look at the quoted figure of maybe 100 million liters that people claim we’re consuming.
“Is it real? I mean is it either under-recoveries of subsidy? Is it really 100 million liters per day? How on earth are we consuming that? We need to look at this critically and see how we can find the truth.
“I am not convinced that within the boundaries of Nigeria we are consuming 100 million liters, probably neighbouring countries may be benefiting from this. Can’t we do something about it? It is a failure on us if we are not able to control it.”
