Work on palliatives for subsidy removal, Tinubu tells Shettima-led NEC

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has challenged the National Economic Council (NEC) led by Vice President Kashim Shettima to come up with an approach and set in motion the process of working on interventions to cushion the biting effect of fuel subsidy removal on the Nigerian masses.

The NEC is by the provision of the Nigerian Constitution peopled by state governors and usually led by the Second-in-Command.

Meanwhile, Tinubu handed down the directive after a meeting with some major oil marketers who paid him a courtesy visit at the State House in Abuja on Wednesday, June 7, 2023.

This was disclosed by the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, who led the marketers under the aegis of the Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), on the visit.

The governor, who was a former chairman of DAPPMAN, told State House correspondents after the meeting that the marketers expressed solidarity with the President for removing the fuel subsidy which has been costing the nation trillions of naira.

They said the move will enhance government revenue and inevitably lead to more FAAC allocation to states.

The group of marketers also announced their plan to roll out between 50 to 100 ’50-seater’ mass transit buses to ease the burden on the masses.

The buses, estimated to cost about ₦100 million each and ₦10 billion cumulatively, will be locally manufactured and be powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as fuel.

The marketers promised to commence the mass transit programme within the next 30 days and expressed hope that other corporate bodies can follow suit.