The proposal to remove petrol subsidies has been suggested previously. Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala served as Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy under the Jonathan administration, which was also involved in the saga. The fuel subsidy was deemed unsustainable by former President Jonathan, who made several unsuccessful attempts to eliminate it.
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In a viral video, Okonjo-Iweala shares her experience of abolishing suspicious subsidies and facing backlash, including her mother’s kidnapping and demand for her resignation. She cites the 2012 fuel scarcity clean-up as an example. “Nigeria exports crude oil and imports fuel due to poor refinery conditions, providing a subsidy for refined oil support. In 2011, N1 was spent.” 143 marketers submitted $11 billion in subsidy claims for imported products, a significantly larger amount than the $2 billion seen in 2006. We audited $8 to investigate these claims. $4 billion in claims, $2.5 billion in fraud found. Marketers attempted to fraudulently claim $2.5 billion. With the President’s and the Economic Team’s support, we refused to pay the claims despite intense pressure from affected marketers. We committed to improving the transparency and clarity of the subsidy claim process.
They didn’t agree with us not paying and implementing the new verification system. As a result, they, along with influential individuals, became upset and singled me out for blame. ” My 83-year-old mother, a retired sociology professor, was kidnapped by four young men and held for five days, with personal consequences.” “She was terrified and asked why she was kidnapped. They answered, ‘Because your daughter, the Finance Minister, didn’t pay oil marketers their dues.'” Kidnappers demanded my resignation publicly and my departure from the country as a condition for my mother’s release, which were some of the worst days of my life. You strive for your family’s pride and want to be a positive influence. ” I felt terrible for implementing a policy that led to my mother’s death while trying to do what was best for the country.” She recounted it as her worst day ever.
