Waiting for Dangote refinery before removing subsidy —Reps

THE House of Representatives has said there was no going back on the removal of subsidy, noting that the completion of Dangote Refinery was what was holding back its removal.

Chairman of the Committee on the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, Adebayo Balogun, said at the just concluded commissioning of Lekki Deep Seaport in Lagos, that subsidy would be removed as soon as the refinery came on stream.

Balogun, who represents Ibeju Lekki Federal constituency of Lagos State, said fuel subsidy would be removed by April, adding that going by the Petroleum Industry Act, subsidy was to be removed by June this year.

He explained that the PIA had to be amended for subsidy to be removed in June but noted that the Federal Government had said it planned to remove it by April.

According to him, subsidy cannot be removed if Dangote and other refineries are not ready.

He said: “In the PIA, subsidy was meant to be removed in June but we had to amend the Act to fast forward it to April because the Federal Government said it will be removed by April.

“The removal cannot be done if Dangote and other refineries are not ready and so that means all these things will come up in the next one or two months.

“You know Dangote refinery also has the petrol-chemical plant which will bring the chemical we use for plastics, pharmaceuticals and others and these are the things we spend billions of dollars to import every year and this will open up other opportunities for people.”

SOURCE: VANGUARD