Lai Mohammed
Minister says Nigeria is broke
Mohammed said the current economic state of the country was one of the reasons for the hike in fuel price.
The minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed revealed to journalists on Wednesday, May 18, 2016, that Nigeria is broke.
He said this after a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting which was presided over by President Buhari at the villa.
Mohammed said the current economic state of the country was one of the reasons for the hike in fuel price.
The
minister likened Nigeria’s situation to a man who earns N100,000 as
salary, and suddenly his employer says he can only pay N30,000, adding
that the man has to make some hard decisions to be able to survive.
Mohammed said “It
is like somebody who has been earning N100,000 a month and he is faced
with a situation where his employer says henceforth you will be earning
N10,000 a month. He would need to make some very painful decisions and
some very painful adjustments. That is the situation with Nigeria today.
“A
few months ago, we were earning as much as $100 for every barrel of
crude. In the months of February and March, we no longer have the
resources, the foreign exchange to bring in refined fuel products. And
our economy is shrinking.
“We appreciate
the fact that the decision is going to affect everybody. We appreciate
what we are going through, but Nigerians should also know that the
government has the responsibility at times to take very difficult
decisions. So, it is not always about popularity.”
Meanwhile, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Engr.
Babachir David Lawal, reportedly said that corruption in the petroleum
downstream sector led to the removal of oil subsidy.
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