Oil minister, Lokpobiri, replies Atiku, Obi over calls for subsidy return

Heineken Lokpobiri, Nigeria's minister of state for petroleum resources, responded to calls from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra governor Peter Obi to reinstate the petrol subsidy. The minister argued that the policy is financially unsustainable for Nigeria. During a breakfast meeting with media practitioners in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Lokpobiri questioned where the money for the subsidy would come from, emphasizing that it would have to be taken from the same oil sector.

He highlighted that the subsidy regime consumes resources that the country cannot afford to spend on keeping petrol prices artificially low. The minister warned that if the decision to maintain the subsidy was not made, Nigeria would have been in a similar situation to Venezuela, where citizens queue to buy basic necessities. Lokpobiri also pointed out that the financial weakness of the defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) can be partly attributed to the subsidy regime.

He noted that NNPC never paid dividends or made profits and was solely responsible for importing refined products. The minister further explained that NNPC couldn't meet its cash call before his government took over, but today, it is no longer facing that challenge.