According to Festus Osifo, the national president of PENGASSAN and TUC, the Federal Government still subsidizes petroleum despite President Bola Tinubu’s declaration that the era of petroleum subsidies is over.
Osifo said that the government subsidizes the product because of the global crude oil price and the exchange rate between the naira and the dollar. He told Channels Television:
"Today, they the government are paying subsidies. The previous price was based on crude selling at around $80 per barrel internationally, so there is subsidy today. But now, Brent crude is around $93/94 per barrel. So the price of petroleum has to change too.
Osifo explained how the government can stop subsidizing petroleum:
"The price will not change if you can manage your exchange rate well, increase supply, and reduce the exchange rate.
"So, we will not pay subsidy if the exchange rate drops today. But we have subsidy because of the value of the exchange rate and the cost of crude oil internationally.
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