The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has said the current oil subsidy being implemented by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government does not favour Nigerian people.
Atiku, who spoke through one of the PDP presidential campaign spokespersons Charles Aniagwu, said Nigeria’s neighbours and those who can afford to pay, are the one benefitting from the subsidy.
“Our subsidy as it is now is not reaching out to the poor. The present subsidy regime has not been the best for us as a country. Atiku isn’t against subsidy but he believes that when you subsidise, it must go to the actual people you are subsidising, in this case those who don’t have the purchasing power,” he said.
He stated Atiku’s administration would not continue with the present subsidy regime as it had not been beneficial to the ordinary man it was meant to serve.
Aniagwu, who is Commissioner for Information in Delta State, said the PDP presidential candidate said he would tinker with the subsidy regime, so that it would benefit the Nigerian people.
“Atiku says he is going to tinker with the subsidy regime by inviting private sector players to build functional refineries which will bring down the price on account of competition so that at the end of the day there wouldn’t be anything to subsidise because the people’s purchasing power would have been enhanced,” he added.
According to him, Atiku would energise the country’s private sector to drive the nation’s economy to provide jobs for the people.
(Courtesy: New Telegraph)