Isa Yuguda, a former Governor of Bauchi State, has claimed that the Federal Government continues subsidizing petroleum products.

Recall that President Bola Tinubu declared in his inaugural speech last year that the gasoline subsidy was no longer available. He went on to say that the fuel subsidy payment was no longer justified and that the fuel subsidy was not included in the 2023 budget.

Aiming to solve Nigeria’s economy issues, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended in one of its studies from last month that the country phase down expensive fuel and energy subsidies.

The elimination has caused gas prices in key cities to triple from about N200 per liter to roughly N700. Further exacerbating the financial circumstances of millions of people, this has also resulted in a sharp rise in the price of products and services.

Yuguda stated on Monday, 4th March 2024, in an interview with newsmen, “If the IMF says we are paying subsidy, then we are.”

“However, I detached the subsidy that was going into private pockets, one that wasn’t normally supposed to be paid.”

“If it was due, it should have been paid into the national treasury, and because of the revenue increase we are seeing, less money that was previously going into private citizens’ pockets is now entering the national treasury.”

“We all pay subsidies on gasoline products that are pumped through pipelines, but the President removed it, which is why most States are receiving twice or three times their allotment. In many cases, the gasoline products are pumped through imaginary pipelines that don’t exist.”

Speaking on the dire state of the nation’s economy, the former Governor claimed that the typical Nigerian would not comprehend the difficulties the President must overcome to improve the state of the economy.

According to him, the President’s Cabinet members must assist in educating the public about how the nation’s policies will affect them. “I will expect the cabinet of Mr. President to go down the strata of our society and explain to the people that this is the situation that we have found ourselves in,” he said.

“The economy wouldn’t be the way it is today if it weren’t for the mismanagement of the past and our Central Bank screwing us up.”

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