Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
A former member of the House of Representatives, Sunday Karimi, has charged President Muhammadu Buhari to channel funds that will be saved from the removal of fuel subsidy to the development of critical infrastructure in the country.
Karimi, who is also a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State, in a statement, on Thursday, accused previous administrations of paying lip service to the deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil sector.
The former lawmaker stated that he believes that the decision of President Buhari is in the overall interest of the country.
“Removal of subsidy on PMS and a total deregulation of the down stream sector is a smart move by President Buhari, Government since 1999 has been paying lipservice to deregulation of the petroleum industry
“One of the major draining pipes and sources of wastage and corruption in Government finances is the high subsidy being paid by government for the pump prices of petrol for ages, the effect of the subsidy doesn’t reflect positively on common man on the street
“President Buhari with his long term experience in the industry took a right decision, previous administrations since 1999 demonstrated lack of political will to safe the nation from this unnecessary wastage under the guise of subsidy
“Most of our neighboring countries enjoyed greatly from the subsidy as the products were being taken out fraudulently and sold to them at a bit higher rate,” Karimi stated.