‘Nigeria will be shut down’ -NANS warns FG against Fuel Subsidy Removal

The National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS) has warned the Federal Government against removing subsidies on petroleum products.

Recall that the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed had on Wednesday announced that the government would remove fuel subsidy in June 2022 and replace it with a monthly N5,000 transport grant to about 40 million poor Nigerians.

Reacting to this while adressing journalists in Abuja on Friday, NANS President, Adedayo Asefon stated that the Federal Government embarking on such a decision will further heighten the hardship in the country.

“Nigeria will be shut down should the Federal Government attempt to remove the fuel subsidy as allegedly being proposed,” Asefon said.

“It is merely an attempt to add a new dimension of economic woes upon Nigerians through this removal of fuel subsidy.

“We wish to state further that before Federal Government can take any decision on the removal of subsidy, it must first demonstrate goodwill by ensuring that the NNPC makes the four refineries we have in this country work at full capacity to determine the exact cost of refining the products in the country.

“Nigeria cannot continue to use this cause of the implication of the petrol as the benchmark for determining the appropriate price of the products.”