Former presidential contender and Labour Party politician Peter Obi has ignited new national controversy after a viral video appeared in which he referred to Nigeria’s fuel subsidy system as “organised crime” and questioned the country’s fuel consumption statistics.
Obi stated in a widely circulated video on social media that the subsidy scheme lacks transparency and that Nigeria’s reported fuel usage does not reflect economic reality or comparative data from similar countries.
In the strongly worded remarks, read what Peter Obi said below:
“Subsidy is organised crime. I will not allow any form of criminality as president of Nigeria. Hey, the amount of fuel they say we consume cannot be consumed by this country.
There is an empirical evidence. We are about the same size as Pakistan. We are about 210, 220. Pakistan is about the same size. They have more roads.
We probably have same number of vehicles or they have even more. Yet, their fuel consumption is a third of ours. So who is drinking the balance?”
See post below;
The video elicited varied reactions online, with both admirers and detractors weighing in on his assertions and broader economic arguments.
See reactions below;
Winsome wrote: “It is clear now that removing subsidies is not enough to save our economy. But after removing subsidies, what measures are put in place to effectively manage the resources to directly benefit the Nigerian people?
My presidential candidate has a clear plan for Nigeria’s economy and how he intends to manage it to benefit every citizen of this country.”
Mantra wrote: “This is why they don’t want him in AsoRock cos they know if he gets there, he is definitely coming for everyone of them!
They don’t mind D country burn to the ground jst as long as this man doesn’t become President + if they had something on him they would have brought him down.”
Kingstonpk wrote: “Purely organised crime. That’s the same reason they dont want a refinery to work in Nigeria.”