Subsidy: CNPP disagrees with Blair on how to fix Nigeria

   
Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) yesterday rose from an emergency meeting in Enugu disagreeing with former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, on how to fix Nigeria, especially on the controversial issue of oil subsidy.

In his speech at the All Progressives Congress (APC) seminar, Mr. Blair had urged the president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, to take difficult decisions that may inflict immediate pain, but in the long-term interest of the country and the government.

Blair cited Indonesia as an example, where President Joko Widodo removed oil subsidy to smash Indonesia’s hugely expensive and inefficient, and yet popular fuel subsidy.

But in a statement signed by its spokesman, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, the CNPP said: “It is our considered view that the issue of oil subsidy in Nigeria to a large extent differs from the one in Indonesia or other countries for that matter. In our own case, the issue is pure and simple unbridled corruption. Our position is that there is little or no subsidy.

“Nigerians have suffered enough and do not need more impoverishment. Secondly, we have implicit confidence that the president-elect will wage a strident war against corruption in the oil and other sectors.”

Our vote for him was predicated on his uncommon integrity and antecedent of an anti-graft warlord.

“It may interest Mr Blair and those champions of subsidy removal, if it exists at all, that from 2010 to 2013 budget years, the subsidy tariff rose astronomically from N680 million to N2.6 trillion. Can this pass any prudent and genuine forensic financial scrutiny; or can Buhari support such travesty?”