The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has given justification why President Muhammadu Buhari compared the prices of fuel between Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and other countries.
Mohammed said Buhari’s comparison was justified because there was nothing wrong in comparing.
The Minister stated this while featuring on Radio Nigeria current affairs programme, Radio Link, yesterday in Abuja.
During his Independence Day speech, Buhari had compared the prices of buying fuel in Nigeria with countries like Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Niger and others.
He had stressed that Nigerians can’t pay less for fuel.
But, Buhari’s remark had led to criticisms by Nigerians.
Backing Buhari, Mohammed said: “Some people have said that why should we compare ourselves to Saudi Arabia with better infrastructure and higher wages.
“Our answer to that is very simple. Saudi Arabia has 34 million people while Nigeria has 200 million people.
“Saudi Arabia produces 10 million barrels of crude oil per day, while Nigeria produces, at its best, 2.1 million barrel per day.
“Their population is about one-sixth of Nigeria’s population, and they are blessed with more resources. Therefore, they can afford to pay higher wages and build infrastructure.
“Our argument must be put in proper perspective. As we have said, whatever money we make from the subsidy removal, we will invest in infrastructure development.”
(Daily Post)
Has Mr. Lai Mohammed forgotten or he is simply playing ignorance to the fact that our national resources have the capacity to make this nation great but the wanton stealing in high places and the utter wastages in governance have continued to deprive us of the opportunity to make life better for the average citizens. Get all the money that have been stolen by the privileged few and plough back into the nation, then spend this money judiciously without inflating contracts or wrongly allocating the resources to white elephant projects but to areas of genuine needs and see the wonders of a new Nigeria.