In a bid to address the challenges faced by Nigerians after the fuel subsidy removal, the National Economic Council (NEC) has released three essential considerations concerning the policy.
The considerations followed a meeting by the NEC on Thursday, August 17, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
The conversation was the 135th meeting of NEC since it was constituted.
The considerations are:
1) Inflationary impact: Fuel subsidy removal will increase inflation. So, there is a need for robust social programmes.
2) Efficiency in government spending: There needs to be more clarity on how the government spends subsidy savings. This issue must be addressed.
3) Investment in the downstream and midstream segments of the industry: Achieving this will reduce huge dependence on petrol imports and strike out the need to pay subsidies on fuel.
As part of its recommendations after the meeting, the NEC insisted national legislative reform agenda for national competitiveness is essential.
The move comes amid concerns that the Nigerian populace is already burdened by inflation and rising living costs.
Already, transportation costs spiked, affecting the daily lives of millions who rely on public transportation or personal vehicles for their livelihoods.
Experts say efforts by the NEC to address the challenges citizens face would be welcome news for Nigerians.