Gbenga Hashim-Olawepo, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has alleged that under former President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria closed around 700 Naira to the dollar, and that the country was spending money to subsidize petrol at the time.
Speaking from 3:35 on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Hashim-Olawepo highlighted that the subsidy on petrol meant that the government was using public funds to keep fuel prices low for citizens.
He noted that the current situation is different because there is no subsidy on petrol, which theoretically should reduce government expenditure on fuel.
Hashim-Olawepo also mentioned the Dancotea Refinery, which is now producing a significant amount of locally refined petrol.
He explained that with the absence of a subsidy and the availability of local production, the country should ordinarily be able to save some money from its fuel revenues.
On the broader economy, Hashim-Olawepo compared Nigeria’s current Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with that of two decades ago, when former President Olusegun Obasanjo was leaving office.
He lamented that the Nigerian economy was larger at the end of Obasanjo’s administration than it is today, despite the country having more resources and industries now.
Hashim-Olawepo further observed that by the time former President Goodluck Jonathan handed over to Buhari, Nigeria was the leading economy in Africa, but it has since slipped to a position between fourth and fifth, a trend he described as a disaster.
The PDP chieftain pointed to the combination of fuel subsidy removal and local refinery production as measures that should have strengthened the economy but argued that the results do not reflect this potential.
He said, “Under Buhari, we closed around 700 Naira to the dollar. Then there was subsidy. That means we were spending money to subsidize petrol. Now, there is no subsidy. Secondly, now, you have Dancotea Refinery producing substantial local production. That means, ordinarily, you should have some savings.” See_More…