Obi: Removing petrol subsidy suddenly is like forceful removal of tooth

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), says the removal of the petrol subsidy by the present administration was a “forceful” attempt despite his support for it. 

Obi spoke to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday while attending the hearing of the election petition tribunal. 

The removal of the petrol subsidy followed the pronouncement of President Bola Tinubu when he said the petrol subsidy regime was over.

Following Tinubu’s comments, huge queues resurfaced at filling stations in some parts of Nigeria due to panic-buying. 

Afterwards, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, announced the adjusted price of petrol across its retail outlets — an action that has led to several agitations. 

Reacting to this development, Obi said while he supported the removal of the subsidy, it must be with a condition that is empirical to the people.

“If you have followed me very well right from the time I was a member of Jonathan’s economic management team, I consistently maintained that subsidy should be removed because I see it as organized crime,” the LP candidate said.

“People were just stealing the resources of the country and I showed empirically in my statistical analysis that we are not consuming the amount of fuel they claim we consume.

“If you approach a dentist to remove a painful tooth, he will apply a local anaesthetic to numb the area around the tooth so you do not feel pain. It’s not the same thing as pulling the tooth forcefully, the pain you feel will be different.

“For me, I will go with the approach of the dentist while supporting the removal of the tooth because I wouldn’t want to go through the pain of forceful removal.

“If you read my manifesto you will see clearly how I planned to remove the subsidy. I will govern with the people and show them statistically and empirically what we are getting and how we are deploying it.

“The problem in Nigeria is that when people say let’s go and suffer, let’s go and sacrifice, they don’t see the results of their suffering and their sacrifice.”