THE Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Lamido Sanusi, has urged Nigerians not in support of government removal of subsidy for petroleum products to forget it, insisting that the days of oil subsidy are numbered.
Sanusi said the CBN has been in the front burners in advocating for the removal of the initiative, which continued to drain national purse.
He said the position of the apex financial regulatory authority stems from what the country stands to gain if the subsidy is removed.
According to him: ‘We at CBN have always insisted that government should do away with the oil subsidy, because it is good for the economy.
It may be harsh at the beginning but in the long run it would be beneficial for the country and it will help the economy.
He said that it is unwise for government to be subsiding petroleum products while keeping refineries in other countries in business which is at the detriment of the country’s economy.
Though he did not state when the government would eventually remove the subsidy but said it is unavoidable.
‘When it is going to be removed is not for CBN to say, it is rather for those in the authority to do so, but it is unavoidably going to be removed,’ he said.
The issue of removal of subsidy on petroleum product has always been a subject of controversy between the government and the civil society groups, particularly the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).
It would be recalled that the government recently muted its plans to remove subsidy on the petroleum products, an action that may lead to increase in the pump price of fuel from N65.