In spite of its support for the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), led by President Bola Tinubu, the Youth Party (YP), says it frowned at the implementation if it is without any form of social safety net to cushion the impact and protect the poor.

The party in a statement insisted that Nigeria cannot justify spending less than a trillion on education and health respectively last year, but over four trillion on fuel subsidies.

“However, most countries subsidise public transport to assist the poor and vulnerable. This would allow the take-home pay of low-wage workers to truly take them home.

“Most importantly, we believe that subsidy on fuel should be gradually removed within a space of 6 months to 1 year to mitigate the impact on the poor.

“During the removal period, the Government should subsidize public transport to reduce the effect on low-income earners and the vulnerable.

“This should be carried out by allowing public transporters to continue to buy fuel at a subsidized rate either through a weekly voucher system or exemption from certain statutory fees with an agreement to maintain transport fare at the same rates,” the party stated.

YP, which suggested that the FGN should partner with the public transport interest groups like the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to ensure that the removal of fuel subsidies does not affect the poor, insisted that there is an urgent need for an increase in the minimum wage to assist the poor to manage the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy and the attendant increase in transportation cost.

According to the political party, “Employers may also need to increase their commitment to their social responsibility by revisiting their remuneration structure to protect their junior staff from the severe and dire impact of the removal of fuel subsidy. More needs to be done in the societal interest.

“Furthermore, the Government should accelerate the shift to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)by prioritizing its abandoned Autogas Policy.

“CNG currently costs N100-110 per unit. This is below N488-540 a litre cost of petrol. Using CNG as an alternative fuel will assist in reducing pressure on subsidies paid out by FGN on public transport. It isalso a cleaner and cheaper fuel. Some companies are already successfully using CNG to power their fleet,” it added.

The political party recommended that the FGN should enact a legal framework that incentivizes gas development.(Nigerian Tribune)