Hammed Shittu
16 November 2009
Ilorin — Kano state governor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, at the weekend, called on the Federal Government to create a special agency where the benefits of the subsidy removed from the petroleum sector as a resultof deregulation is used for delivery of democracy dividends to Nigerians like what happened during the military era.
Shekarau, who stated this in Ilorin shortly after the Association of Former Councilors in Nigeria gave him an award among other distinguished Nigerians, said continued subsidy of the petroleum sector has continued to give few Nigerians opportunity to a mass wealth at the expense of the less privileged ones in the society.
Shekarau said the development has made the governors inthe country to support the deregulation of the oil sector in order to curtail the activities of these few cabals in the sector.
According to him, "there is wisdom in arresting the situation as itis now with 100 percent importation of fuel, because all the refineries are shut down at the moment and if we don't do anything, it is some few importers of the fuel that will be living on all of us.
He however admonished the Federal Government to create a dedicated account where the erstwhile subsidy funding would be paid.
"What we are asking the government now is deregulate. But before you deregulate, what do you put on ground to convince Nigerians that the revenue that would now accrue as aresult of the subsidy removal? What are you going to do with the money? I will not agree that the money go into the common treasury.
"It would be swallowed in there and we would not notice it. Let the common mansee it," Shekarau further advised.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
