Former Nigeria’s Vice President and the Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has faulted the federal government’s move to acquire $3 billion to cushion the effect of subsidy removal.
It is understood that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), on Wednesday, secured a $3bn emergency crude oil repayment loan from the African Export-Import Bank.
NNPCL said the loan would be used by the oil company to support the Federal Government in stabilizing Nigeria’s exchange rate. It was also gathered that the facility would also help in reducing the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol.
Speaking on this move by the FG, Atiku through his Special Assistant on Public Communications, Mr Phrank Shaibu in a statement, described the purpose given for the loan as a ruse to force the naira to appreciate in the parallel market.
He added that the move was cosmetic and unimaginative and had once again exposed President Bola Tinubu as a poor economist that lacked ideas on how to rescue the Nigerian economy he had pushed to the edge with unviable policies.
Atiku also claimed that oil production has dropped on Tinubu’s watch due to continuous oil theft, stressing that instead of boosting forex liquidity by increasing production and exports, the President decided to take the path of obtaining foreign loans, an inglorious road that his predecessor (Buhari) had taken.
Notably, sources have disclosed that the loan obtained by the federal government would be used to boost the imports of petrol into Nigeria, as oil marketers further confirmed that the facility would tackle the seeming re-emergence of subsidy on petrol.
SOURCE: Legit.ng
IMAGE: Premium Times
