The Federal Government has highlighted how the increase in fuel price will be of benefit to Nigerians.

This is amid a planned strike action by organized labour over the inreased which they say comes at a time Nigerians are still struggling with the hardship caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Addressing newsmen, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said that the government’s decision to increase fuel price and electricity tariff will benefit Nigerians in the long run.

He said, “Let’s start with deregulation. Ordinary citizens are not the beneficiaries of the subsidy on petroleum products that have lasted for years. Between 2006 and 2019, a total of 10.4 trillion Naira was spent on fuel subsidy, most of which went to fat cats who either collected subsidy for products they didn’t import or diverted the products to neighbouring countries, where prices are much higher. Instead of subsidy, ordinary Nigerians were subjected to scarcity of petroleum products.

They endured incessant long queues and paid higher to get the products, thus making the subsidy ineffectual.”

The minister added that government could no longer afford the cost of fuel subsidy.

“Apart from that, the truth is that the government can no longer afford the cost of subsidy, especially under the prevailing economic conditions. Revenues and foreign exchange earnings by the government have fallen by almost 60%, due to the downturn in the fortunes of the oil sector. And there is no provision for subsidy in the revised 2020 budget.

“So where will the subsidy money come from? Remember that despite the massive fall in revenues, the government still has to sustain expenditures, especially on salaries and capital projects,” Lai Mohammed added.