Fuel subsidy reversal unthinkable, says CPPE boss

The Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf, has described any attempt to reverse the removal of petrol subsidy as unthinkable, arguing that the policy is critical to Nigeria’s economic recovery.

Yusuf said President Bola Tinubu’s decision to end subsidy payments had helped correct longstanding distortions in the economy and reduce leakages associated with the former regime.

Speaking during a Channels Television interview, the economist said the reforms should be improved rather than reversed, warning that a rollback could weaken investor confidence and worsen the country’s fiscal position.

“This is not the kind of reform anybody should be contemplating of reversing,” Yusuf said, while acknowledging that the policy was not perfect and could be fine-tuned.

He said Nigeria’s economic challenges predated the reforms, including severe foreign exchange shortages that affected businesses and international transactions.

Yusuf argued that the focus should now shift from calls for subsidy restoration to improving the implementation of the reforms and cushioning their effects on vulnerable Nigerians.

He also urged state and local governments to be more accountable for the additional revenues they have received since the subsidy removal.

According to him, sub-national governments should channel increased revenues into rural roads, agriculture, food production, primary healthcare and education.

“The Federal Government cannot solve all the problems. The Federal Government, of course, has a lot to do, but the sub-nationals have a lot more to do,” he said.