A former Vice-President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar says the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress Adams Oshiomhole was responsible for the government inability to remove fuel subsidy removal.
When Atiku was the Vice-President in 1999-2007, Oshiomhole was the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
In a tweet on Saturday, Atiku said Obasanjo assigned him to oversee the negotiation with the NLC Chairman but his effort was frustrated.
“The Obasanjo government in which I served commenced a phased subsidy withdrawal. I was tasked with negotiating with then NLC Chairman and current APC Chairman who stood strongly against it,” he wrote.
Atiku, however, added that he achieved two phases of subsidy removal of fuel and complete withdrawal of subsidy of diesel before they left office.
Oshiomhole opposed the decision of subsidy and increase fuel price which led to a series of protests across the country at the time.
Obasanjo had argued that the cost of $1 billion to offset high oil price was not sustainable, assuring that the money recovers from increase fuel price would be used to eradicate poverty.
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) announced that it has removed price cap on the retail price of premium motor spirit (PMS) on Thursday, Atiku said Buhari had demonised him for suggesting the elimination of fuel subsidy.
“FG finally withdraws from the fuel subsidy and price-fixing bazaar that had been rife with corruption and stalling investments. This is something patriots have been calling for and for which I was demonised,” he had said.
The world is currently suffering from the global fall of the price of crude oil but Atiku said it will fall further or rise without notice.
Atiku said Nigeria does not have the fund to continue to be involved in backstopping fuel price at any level.
“And the way to go is to liberalise the downstream subsector and not fix prices as long as the marketers can import on their own and sell,” he had said.
