The Arewa Youth Assembly (AYA) has lent their support to the removal of the fuel subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Speaker of AYA, Mohammed Salihu Danlami, addressed newsmen in Kaduna on Thursday, stating that while the decision was tough, it was a courageous one that the previous administration failed to take.
Danlami commended President Tinubu for his thoughtfulness and continuity in keeping up with the fuel subsidy removal. He highlighted that the foundation for this decision was laid by the immediate past administration.
The Arewa Youth Assembly went on to commend the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd for addressing the nation and making prompt adjustments to the price of PMS to combat fuel hoarding in certain parts of the country.
Nigeria previously spent an average of N120 billion monthly on petrol subsidy, according to Danlami. He urged Nigerians to resist the temptation and instigation by those trying to cause chaos and instability in the country.
The Speaker emphasized that subsidy removal aligns with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA Act) 2021, which provides total deregulation of the petroleum downstream section to drive investment and growth.
For years, Nigeria has been stagnant due to fuel subsidies, claimed Danlami. He alleged that only a few rich Nigerians who do not need the subsidy actually benefit from it, while the majority of Nigerians struggle to afford quality education, healthcare, infrastructure, electricity, telecommunications, and stable power supply. They also face high rates of unemployment and abject poverty due to the few top politicians and key government officials making billions of dollars from subsidies.
