LCCI calls for total scrapping of petroleum subsidy

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has demanded total removal of subsidy on petroleum products, stating that it was no more rational given the current vagaries and realities in the oil market. The Senate had reduced petrol subsidy from N200 billion to N100 billion and kerosene subsidy from N91 billion to N45.5 billion, given the current economic realities.

But in a statement signed by Remi Bello, president, LCCI, the chamber said total scrapping of subsidy would generate huge savings for investment in priority sectors such as infrastructure and also provide a great opportunity to liberate the downstream oil sector from the shackles of oppressive regulations and monumental corruption. “This would as well pave the way for more robust private sector investment in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry,” Bello said, in the statement.

The chamber further commended the Senate’s decision to cut the 2015 National Assembly budget by 25 percent (N37.5 billion) from N150 billion to N112.5 billion, saying that this would free up resources to finance other priorities. He said the increase of the capital budget from N633 billion to N700 billion was good news for the economy, but insisted that the figure was still inadequate in the light of the huge infrastructure deficit in the country and the urgent need to build a robust and sustainable nonoil economy.