Ripples Nigeria
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate, Bola Tinubu, has vowed to end the controversial petrol subsidy payment.
On Friday, he made the promise while unveiling an 80-page manifesto titled “Renewed hope: Action Plan for a Better Nigeria” in Abuja.
In 2012, Tinubu was one of the well-known critics of the Jonathan administration’s attempt to remove fuel subsidy.
In the manifesto, aside from phasing out fuel subsidy, Tinubu promised to accelerate full implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act and implement additional favourable policies to attract investment in deepwater assets within six months.
He said: “I will ensure the stability of petroleum product supply by fully deregulating the downstream sector and ensuring that local refinery capacity will meet domestic consumption needs.
“We shall phase out the fuel subsidy yet maintain the underlying social contract between government and the people. We do this by dedicating the money that would have been used on the subsidy to fund targeted infrastructural, agricultural and social welfare programmes ranging from road construction to boreholes, public transportation subsidies, and education and healthcare funding programmes.
“In this way, the funds are more directly and better utilised to address urgent social and economic needs. Our planned approach will not only mitigate the price effects of deregulation but will also result in the significant expansion of public infrastructure and improvement of public well-being…
