Fuel subsidy stays -Presidency

The Presidency has said it will not remove subsidy from oil without extensive consultations and engagement with various stakeholders in the country.

For now, the Federal Government said the removal of the subsidy was not even on its table.

It, however, described the comment made by President Goodluck Jonathan at the Economic Summit held in Lagos, where he said government would not continue to subsidise the price of petrol, as a 'frank, intellectual and well articulated contribution.'

A statement by the Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, in Abuja on Thursday, said the President displayed a honest and sincere leadership perspective with his statement.

It will be recalled that since the President made the speech, several groups, including organised labour and civil society groups, have warned the President against taking such decision.

But Okupe said in the statement, 'Contrary to the speculation in the media and assumption by certain groups within the polity, we wish to state categorically that, the removal of oil subsidy is not on the table of the Transformation Agenda of the President.

'The statement made by President Goodluck Jonathan at the recent Economic Summit held in Lagos was a frank, intellectual and well articulated contribution by the President to the discussion on the Nigerian Economy at the said Summit, and it was from a honest and sincere leadership perspective.'

Okupe added that it was an incontrovertible fact that sufficient allocation for fuel subsidy had already being made in the 2013 budget, and that because of this, there was no cause for alarm on removal of subsidy.