By Moses Patience Chat
Stakeholders in the Nigerian maritime industry have commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the removal of fuel subsidy by his government, noting that the move will accelerate infrastructural development in the country.
While speaking to journalists on the issue, the President of the Center for Marine Surveyors in Nigeria (CMSN), Engr. Akin Olaniyan, said that the removal of subsidy is a very good development that will put the criminal enterprises of some Nigerians out of business.
He further said that people who benefited from the subsidy were rich Nigerians, and that this was at the detriment of the poor ones.He explained that the gains of subsidy removal can be used to enhance the power sector, revamp the agricultural sector and develop the information and communication technology (ICT) sector.
His words: “we wholly support the removal of subsidy. it is a good idea. Statistics have shown that the only beneficiaries of subsidies were the super-rich Nigerians.They have been milking this country for so long, past governments were armtwisted and blackmailed against subsidy removal.
“The removal will free the government from paying humongous amounts of money every year which directly or indirectly goes into pockets of foreign interest and their Nigerian collaborators.”
Engr. Olaniyan added that freeing the government from paying for fuel subsidy will help the government to improve on its developmental programmes for citizens of the country, and that if the gains of subsidy removal are well managed, Nigerians should expect some worthwhile development that will make life easier for them.
Giving his remarks on the issue of subsidy removal, the President of the Master Marina Association of Nigeria (MMAN), Captain Tajudeen Alao, also said that the removal of fuel subsidy will affect every facet of the nation’s economy.
Also further noted that the present salary structure of many companies and government will also be positively affected.