With the pause on the planned removal of petrol subsidy, the Federal Government is left with no option but to keep borrowing, the Presidency has said.
The President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, said in an interview on Channels Television, “Head or tail, Nigeria will have to pay a price.”
He further said: “It’s either we pay the price for the removal in consonance and conjunction with the understanding of the people, but if that will not come, the other cost is that borrowings may continue, and things may be difficult fiscally with both the states and the Federal Government.
“You know how much could have been saved if the subsidy was removed and how it could have been diverted to other areas and spheres of national life. But if you do not go that way now – and I agree that it may not be auspicious to go that way, then we have to pay a price.”
Reacting to allegations that the suspension of the fuel subsidy removal has to do with the general elections in 2023, Adesina said: “It is a valid thing (to do). But is this done because of elections next year? No.”
“It is done because as the minister (of finance) stated, the timing is not auspicious, inflation is still high. In the past eight months, we saw inflation reducing but the last month, it went up again; further consultations need to happen with all the stakeholders.”
He also debunked claims that the present administration’s proposal to extend the removal of fuel subsidy by 18 months was intended to booby-trap the next president.
