₦airaland Forum

Muhammad Sanusi II, Emir of Kano and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says the removal of the petrol subsidy prevented Nigeria from sliding into bankruptcy.

Sanusi made the remarks on Saturday at the second edition of the Kano International Poetry Festival (KAPFEST), organised by the Poetic Wednesdays Initiative.

The monarch described the subsidy regime as unsustainable, arguing that it placed the burden of global oil price fluctuations, exchange rate volatility, transportation costs, and refining expenses squarely on government finances.

“Subsidy was simply the government saying, ‘If the price of petrol is N100, Nigerians will pay N70 and I will pay N30,’” he said.

“But beyond that, the government also placed a hedge, fixing petrol at N65 per litre irrespective of whether the international price of oil was $10 or $100 per barrel. Who paid the difference? The government. And this was always going to bankrupt Nigeria.”

Sanusi criticised successive administrations for failing to rehabilitate domestic refineries, arguing that subsidies only enriched foreign refineries while exporting jobs.

"If you look at the billions and billions spent on subsidy and imagine that money invested in refineries, Nigeria would not be where it is today,” he said.

“I have nothing against subsidies if you are subsidising production. My objection has always been subsidy on consumption.”

The emir recalled that as CBN governor in 2012, he had warned that the subsidy system was akin to “a man running towards a ditch”.

“Government revenue could no longer carry the subsidy burden. At some point, we began borrowing to pay the subsidy, then borrowing to service the debt. It became unsustainable. That is exactly what I said would happen, and this is where we are,” he said.

Sanusi added that the removal of the subsidy should be viewed not only as an economic reform but also as an opportunity to rebuild a stronger and more self-reliant Nigeria.

Source: https://businessday.ng/news/article/petrol-subsidy-removal-saved-nigeria-from-bankruptcy-sanusi/

Change is hard. The people that benefit most from a positive change will most often be the most vocal critics of that change, until results will start flooding in.

It means citizens are not getting any benefits from removing of the subsidy. The only thing u enjoying from the government, u let politicians deceived u, then take it away without any benefits again from them.

You go explain tire...!
No matter what you analys citizens and not happy with the current situation of the country.
Obi no mean bad for the country
Yar adua no mean bad
GEJ no mean bad
Buhari no mean bad
Like wise Baba Jagaban but the shadows of the past is really worrying us in the country.

princeade86:
It means citizens are not getting any benefits from removing of the subsidy. The only thing u enjoying from the government, u let politicians deceived u, then take it away without any benefits again from them.

Don't worry. When state government start owing civil servants salary and everything turn upside down, maybe citizen will enjoy the benefit then.

What is coming for Tinubu and his supporters in 2027 is called Armageddon

If Tinubu and co had allowed Jonathan to remove it in 2014, we would have avoided this mess we currently in

LegendHero:
Don't worry. When state government start owing civil servants salary and everything turn upside down, maybe citizen will enjoy the benefit then.

continue deceiving urself. So those years, they don't collect salary. Tell me the impact it makes now. So u can't hold ur leaders that are milking ur treasury every time. If corruption stop today, do u think country will be like this? Is not just to come on paper to talk, but for citizens to feel the impact. Only one person will embezzled billions of naira and dollars, yet, nothing will happen.

Most people will not understand. They still believe Nigeria can afford it because Nigeria is the richest country in world.

They will also ask why did Tinubu and co protest against subsidy removal in 2013 at Ojota. They are ignorant to know that any opposition anywhere in the world will always appeal to popular prejudice to get power just like Peter Obi is presently doing.

Sanusi was CBN governor then and led campaign to remove the subsidy. Ditto Madam Onkonjo Iweala,etc.

thesicilian:
Change is hard.

The people that benefit most from a positive change will most often be the most vocal critics of that change, until results will start flooding in.

Is this why Tinubu, Fayemi and ACN/APC were the most vocal critics in 2012 as they played politics with our economy?



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eukKEOSi-8

princeade86:
It means citizens are not getting any benefits from removing of the subsidy. The only thing u enjoying from the government, u let politicians deceived u, then take it away without any benefits again from them.

call it whatever you call it,subsidy is evil that shouldn’t live.imagine still paying subsidy and importing fuel when dollar is now 1600?,you can’t be borrowing money from Opay to pay Palmpay then still borrow from palmpay to Opay again and on.subsidy was never a benefit

The government is not bankrupt but the masses are. What about that? Where is the 💰 saved (taken from the poor mass) from removal of subsidy?

Nigerians need proper explanation on this dubious distortions of fuel subsidy removal.

Government simply transferred the burden to ordinary Nigerians.

The big politicians and government officials are getting the fuel free.

The top people in government are looting the nation dry and leaving large at the expense of the dying masses.

Acute Poverty is ravaging Nigerians, yet someone is telling us that removal of fuel subsidy saved Nigeria from bankruptcy.

Tell me what is the medical tourism, frequent overseas holiday, expensive lifestyle of government officials and their political associates doing to the economy?.

People should stop mocking the masses.

tunde1200:
You go explain tire...!
No matter what you analys citizens and not happy with the current situation of the country.
Obi no mean bad for the country
Yar adua no mean bad
GEJ no mean bad
Buhari no mean bad

Like wise Baba Jagaban but the shadows of the past is really worrying us in the country.

The shadows of the past when APC complained about N87 petrol even though PDP didn’t borrow so much money to bankrupt us?

What is the reason behind APC borrowing more money than PDP after removing subsidy to save $84 billion? Is it looting, stealing and robbing

Buhari’ll reduce petrol to N40/L —David-West

FORMER Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Prof. Tamunoemi David-West, said that Nigerians should expect sharp drop in petrol price from the current N87 to about N40 per litre, saying, “the president-elect, Gen. Mohammed Buhari, will reduce the fuel pump price to N40 per litre.”

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/04/buharill-reduce-petrol-to-n40l-david-west/

Petrol should never cost more than N70 per litre, says APC

January 19, 2015

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described as mere tokenism the reduction of petrol price from N97 to N87 per litre, saying the petroleum product ordinarily should sell for N70.

On Sunday, the federal government announced the reduction of petrol price, citing the fall of global crude oil price.

But the APC through Lai Mohammed, its spokesman, on Monday accused the government of making a show out of deceit, saying “a 10.3 per cent slash in the price of petrol was a mere tokenism at a time the price of crude oil has crashed by about 60 per cent”.

It argued that the pump price of a litre of petrol should not be more than 70 Naira, alleging that at N87 per litre, the government was forcing Nigerians to subsidise the massive corruption in the oil sector by N17 for every litre of fuel.

https://www.thecable.ng/petrol-never-cost-n70-per-litre-says-apc/

Lanretoye:
call it whatever you call it,subsidy is evil that shouldn’t live.imagine still paying subsidy and importing fuel when dollar is now 1600?,

you can’t be borrowing money from Opay to pay Palmpay then still borrow from palmpay to Opay again and on.subsidy was never a benefit

Why should dollar be N1,600 when we have saved $84 billion from subsidy removal, and we have billions of dollars in trade surplus because imports have reduced while exports have increased?

Is the dollar still very costly because Tinubu and APC are worse rogues than their PDP rivals

socialmediaman:
The 2018 Rating by Transparency International placed Nigeria at 148th position out of 180 countries. Nigeria was improving over the years under the previous government, until Buhari got elected as president, things became worse.

There is a difference between fact and fiction. We need to face facts, Buhari is worse than GEJ when it comes to fighting corruption, at least that’s what the facts prove.

Most of us believed there was corruption under Goodluck Jonathan’s Government. I agree with those who did, there was corruption, but not as bad as it is today under Mohammadu Buhari.

In 2012, Nigeria was placed at 139th position, In 2014, Nigeria gained 3 steps and was placed at 136th position. Under Buhari, Nigeria has lost many positions down to 148th.

There’s no further proof needed that corruption has worsened under Buhari’s government compared to previous years.

http://saharareporters.com/2018/02/21/transparency-international-ranks-nigeria-148th-worlds-least-corrupt-country

LegendHero:
Don't worry. When state government start owing civil servants salary and everything turn upside down, maybe citizen will enjoy the benefit then.

Any state government that owe civil servant salary or pension should be stone to death. What the state are getting now from federation accounts can pay civil servant more and provide economic relief in each state.

We all agreed the decision to remove is good but the big question is "how has the subsidy removal benefitted the ordinary man today"

givedemwotowoto:
What is coming for Tinubu and his supporters in 2027 is called Armageddon

Delusional grandeur,you are gonna be shocked to the Bone.

&What pushed Nigeria to bankruptcy in the 1st place? Bad leadership, Bad Governance, Curruption...

Removing subsidy was just to make more money available for Tinubu, while increasing the sufferings of the Masses.

Removing subsidy was a form of Taxation, It is never the ultimate solution to Nigeria becoming bankrupt.
As long as bad leadership, bad governance remain, very soon, Tinubu will still look for other means to tax Nigerians, all resulting in more sufferings for the masses.

So, subsidy removal is like taking Panadol for Malaria. You will only end up treating symptoms, & never the actual disease.

phr0nesis:
If Tinubu and co had allowed Jonathan to remove it in 2014, we would have avoided this mess we currently in

Allowed?
Who Allowed Tinubu' to remove it

Jonathan did not even try to remove it
It was Okonjo Iweala apparently did it
Jonathan never addressed Nigerians before the removal he did not talk
We just woke up one morning and they said it was removed
Clearly Jonathan did not understand or have conviction

And we still borrowing. Na who una dey deceive? Gghh

LegendHero:
Source: https://businessday.ng/news/article/petrol-subsidy-removal-saved-nigeria-from-bankruptcy-sanusi/

Subsidy removal has never being the problem but the shock is what is causing issues in the land

I am sure that most Nigerians would have understood it better if they could see what the money is being used for but instead, the FG is dumping the money in the hands of pilfering Governors and the rest on bogus/criminal renovations.... That is also not sustainable! No accountability in this Tinubu's administration, this is where I have a problem with him.
A Government that is reckless in spending, embarking on senseless white elephant projects (to me - is to steal money legally), cannot be trusted with economy rebuilding.

But yet out external debt has climbed to over 30trillion naira?


Where is the money saved from subsidy, why are we still borrowing from every lender out there, where is the Abacha "recovered loots", why can't govt psy 100k minimum wage?

JAGABAN saved Nigeria’s generation yet unborn, if not, generational thieves like Ote$ who inflated subsidy claims and set traps for Farouk Lawan who have sold Nigeria

Gadafii:
But yet out external debt has climbed to over 30trillion naira?


Where is the money saved from subsidy, why are we still borrowing from every lender out there, where is the Abacha "recovered loots", why can't govt psy 100k minimum wage?

Show us the external debt increase in dollars from 2023 to present, I want to check something.

We have a lot of respect for this guy until it dawn to us he only points to problems without offering solution. And above all he never talk on insecurity bedevilling the North.

thesicilian:
Change is hard. The people that benefit most from a positive change will most often be the most vocal critics of that change, until results will start flooding in.

You mean they criticise because there's no tangible gain for them even if it's a good policy & well executed plans?

givedemwotowoto:
What is coming for Tinubu and his supporters in 2027 is called Armageddon

Na Biafra. No be Armageddon

How far, I hope obi husband (El-rufai) is taking good care of him sha