As the Federal Government prepares the 2016 budget, there are indications that President Muhammadu Buhari is under pressure to remove fuel subsidy, despite the fact that he remains adamant that he would retain the fuel subsidy in the 2016 budget.
It was learnt that there had been pressure on Buhari from some members of his cabinet and stakeholders in the oil industry to remove the subsidy from the 2016 budget which Buhari’s economic team has started working on.
It was gathered that some of them had told him that the scheme could not be sustained in view of the dwindling government revenues. The Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Ibe Kachukwu, had just last week, stated that subsidy was not sustainable, adding that its retention was due to the President’s magnanimity.
From all indications, the President appears resolute and has not yielded to the pressure because of the general impact of the removal of the subsidy on Nigerians. It was however also learnt that Buhari was not completely opposed to the removal of subsidy but he was of the view that such should be done when the government’s refineries were fully working.
