FUEL SUBSIDY: You’re a pastor, stop deceiving Nigerians, Fayose tells Osinbajo

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose has challenged Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to admit that the Federal Government was responsible for fuel subsidy payments following his comment that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and not the federal government was responsible.

Fayose asked, “What is the difference between NNPC and the federal government? Who is NNPC and who is federal government? Is NNPC now an autonomous agency of the federal government?”

The governor added, “Fact is; NNPC does not have rights to spend money it generates from the sales of crude oil. It does not have the rights to swap crude oil for subsidy. Where is NNPC getting the money with which it is subsidizing petrol with N26 per litre? Is NNPC spending money from the sales of crude oil that should be paid into the federation account to pay subsidy?”

Fayose’s Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, disclosed the governor’s views via a statement.

Read also: Osinbajo admits return of fuel subsidy, but says NNPC pays, not Nigerian govt

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, NNPC Group Managing Director, Maikanti Baru, had revealed that the landing cost of petrol was now N171 as against the official pump price of N145 per litre, meaning that N26 was being paid as subsidy on every litre of petrol imported to retain the pump price of N145.

On Monday, Osinbajo stated that the NNPC was bearing the cost of subsidy and not the federal government.

But reacting, Governor Fayose said, “I like the Vice President, he is a pastor and I don’t believe that he will also join others in Buhari’s government to lie to Nigerians. However, this one that he presented NNPC as an agency of the federal government that can allocate fund without the approval of the president is very strange to me.

“If subsidy is being paid by the NNPC as claimed by Vice President Osinbajo, where is the money coming from? Is it from sales of crude oil? Does it now mean that the NNPC is spending part of the proceeds of the sale of crude oil outside allocation to the federal government by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC)?”

Speaking further, the governor said, “We were all in this country in 2012 when chieftains of the APC, including President Buhari led protests across the country against removal of fuel subsidy.

“Before he became President, Buhari maintained that fuel subsidy never existed and when he became President, he said he did not know what fuel subsidy meant.

“We were also in Nigeria in May 2016, when the federal government announced the removal of subsidy on petrol and went on to increase the pump price of petrol to N145 per litre. The same APC people, who protested against removal of subsidy and increment of petrol price to N140 in 2012, defended the removal in 2016 and increment of pump price to N145.

“In 2017 budget of the federal government, provision was not made for the payment of fuel subsidy, so also that of 2018. So where is the N26 they are subsidizing one litre of petrol with coming from? Is the Buhari-led government spending fund not appropriated by the National Assembly?”

 

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