Nigerians want functional refineries as solution to economic woes – Expert

An economic expert, Yusha’u Aliyu, says that Nigerians are expecting functional refineries to cushion the effects of subsidy removal on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as fuel.

Aliyu said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, in reaction to President Bola Tinubu’s live broadcast on Monday, on the country’s economic situation.

NAN reports that Nigerians have been faced with hardship and sufferings occasioned by the removal of subsidy on PMS by the current administration, while the country’s refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna are yet to begin operation.

Aliyu said that functional refineries would have solved all the contending issues surrounding the general inefficiency of the oil sector, but on the contrary, nothing of such was mentioned.

“The president was technical on inflation, even though it is the most disturbing factor militating against targeted prosperity.

“The best time for the president to intervene is now.

“Revisiting the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) importers window will guarantee a temporary stability of PMS pricing and moderation of inflationary trends,” he said.

Aliyu expressed regrets on the president’s remarks on economic issues like subsidy, palliative, preferential exchange rate system among others, noting that they were the most disturbing in recent times.

He, however, said that the simple terms required should have been functional refineries for lasting solution.

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It would be recalled that fuel was sold at N195 per litre before the deregulation but swiftly rose to N540 per litre shortly after the removal of subsidy which affected Nigeria’s economic situation.

In July, fuel pump price was further increased from N540 per litre to N617 per litre and the increment was attributed to market realities.

Hence goods and services skyrocketed as nothing was on ground to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal.

Transportation fares also increased astronomically as motorists complained bitterly about the situation after seeing fuel worth N20,000 lasting only for a few days.

The Federal Government and labour unions engagement on implementation framework to cushion the effect is yet to be actualised but the citizens living conditions are becoming worse which have necessitated the current protest by the unions.