Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has raised questions on Saturday about the subsidy and the volume of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, consumed in Nigeria on a daily basis.
The claim by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited that Nigeria consumes 66 million litres of fuel per day was described as unbelievable by Sanusi.
“Are we drinking the petrol?” asked the former governor of the apex bank during a keynote speech at the seventh edition of KadInvest, an annual event organized by the Kaduna State Investment Promotion Agency.
Sanusi bemoaned the fictitious amount spent on subsidy payments each year and demanded that the NNPC be unbundled and disbanded, noting that the company should not continue to serve as a cash cow for a few Nigerians.
He blamed the country’s lack of revenue on what he called the subsidy free-for-all.
“NNPC tells us officially that we are consuming 66 million litres per day…We are consuming more than Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire, more than Kenya.
“In 2019 officially, we were importing 40 million litres per day. In 2022, officially, we are importing 66 million per day. In three years, we have increased our petrol consumption by 50%.
“Please tell me, is it the population? Is it the number of cars? Just ask yourself if it makes sense that in three years you increase your consumption of petrol by 50%,” he said.
“Nigeria has continued to be a rentier state.
“It does not exist for development but as a sight of rent, and extraction to make those who control the state rich to turn them into billionaires overnight.” Sanusi said.
He stated that Nigeria cannot continue to push the country to the brink of disaster, but must return to address the issues at hand so that future generations are not harmed.
Revenue, debt services over subsidy
According to the ex-CBN governor, who cited data from the Federation Account Allocation Committee, only half of states generate enough recurrent revenue to cover wages, overheads, and debt service.
He stated that the cost of servicing debt with the Federal Government in Nigeria for the first half of 2022 was N2.597 trillion, while revenue was N2.4 trillion.
“In other words, debt service is now 108 percent of revenue.
“Every naira the Federal Government earns goes to service debt and it is not enough, it has to borrow to service the debt, and then begin to pay salaries, borrow to pay overheads, borrow to build roads,” he said.
“Let me ask you: what do you think we are leaving our children behind (with)? A mountain of debt. Every generation wants to leave a legacy so that our children and grandchildren will be praying for us and ask God for mercy on us, not cursing us.
“You leave them with a mountain of debt, you have not educated them, money that will should put into their education, into their healthcare, even assuming this fuel subsidy is genuine, we have taking that money to give ourselves cheap petrol.
“We are borrowing to enjoy cheap petrol so that our children will oay that debt.
“We see the problem and we are going to continue. I’m sorry for the next president who comes in June and says I’m removing fuel subsidy on day one.
“I don’t know what kind of political stability you’ll have,” Sanusi stated.
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