What Peter Obi said about fuel subsidy

An old video of Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour party revealing his plans to remove subsidy if he emerges as President has resurfaced.

Peter Obi speaking in a town hall meeting organized by Channels Television on January 8, 2023, described Nigerian government’s controversial Subsidy as an organized crime.

According to him, he would not allow it to stay any longer should he be elected as Nigeria’s president. This comes following the decade long decision by government to subsidised fuel and fixed retail prices of petroleum products.

Obi said; “I can assure you, it (subsidy) will go immediately. The subsidy, I have said before, is an organised crime and I will not allow it to stay a day longer.

“What they are telling you is not what it is. Half of what is being mentioned is not subsidy. First is that we consume the quantity that is not supposed to be consumed here,” he said.

In his submission, Obi noted that the money spent on fuel subsidy should be put into invested into the country.

“Look at this year’s budget. Education, which is the highest since this government came, is about N2 trillion. Health, which is the highest since this government came, is about N1.5 trillion. Then infrastructure, which is roads and everything, is about N1 trillion.

“These three critical development areas are receiving N4.5 trillion. Subsidy is N3.6 trillion half year. So, if it’s a full year, it is about N7 trillion. Which country will invest more in subsidy than education, health and even roads? It doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Recall that in November 2021, the federal government announced its plan to remove the fuel subsidy and replace it with a monthly N5,000 transport grant for struggling Nigerians.

However, the federal government suspended the plan after the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) threatened to embark on a protest.