MALLAM NASIR EL RUFAI LENDS VOICE TO THE FUEL SUBSIDY ISSUE

We do not need to introduce Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to all our readers, many are still of the opinion he is the best thing to have happened to Abuja, the FCT, where he reigned supreme as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory during the administration of President Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo. While many of his supporters would sing his praise to high heavens, those not in his camp are vociferous in their condemnation of him.

He has been in opposition since he came back to the country and he is presently facing corruption charges over his stewardship, while he was the Minister in charge of the FCT. The write-up below is credited to him, though unconfirmed it was credited to his Twitter account.-

Those giving economic arguments for or against fuel subsidy withdrawal miss the point totally. It is not about economics. It is about TRUST!

The spending pattern & priorities of GEJ, since 2010 is evidence of who he cares for and what.

Under his watch, we increased our debt stock by about $20bn, ran down excess crude from $6bn to zero, FX reserves from $45bn to $ 30bn...

Under GEJ, Dollar exchange rate moved from >N140 to N160 today. Debt stock has doubled to higher than 2005 levels. Interest rates over 20%!

And all this is while nearly 10 trillion Naira, has been spent on government officials, trips abroad & perquisites/subsidies to politicians!

Power supply improvement? Minimal.

Jobs created? Zero.

Transport Infrastructure? Zero.

Agricultural output?  Minimal.

Private jets? Yes, lots

Stationery, refreshment & snacks in the Presidency will consume about N2bn, with N1.6bn spent by GEJ & his VP in 2012. Does that make sense?

Miscellaneous spending by the Villa alone totals N1.7bn for food, honorarium & something called "welfare packages" - another security vote!

In the 2012 budget, NASS intends to spend N150bn on itself, the same amount as in 2011 to pay those huge allowances. It has NOT been reduced

So we will spend about N320m for every NASS member in 2012, as we did in 2011. Where is the shared sacrifice? Where is accountability?

We must resist the N8,000 tax being imposed on every man, woman & child to fund the fuel subsidy & insist that FG cuts its own wastefulness!

The issue with GEJ is simply that of trust. He has wasted huge financial resources & put us in debt in the last 20 months. We must be wary!

We cannot trust with more money as he will only waste more of it. That is the issue & he can only earn that trust through small steps."

- Nasir El Rufai, via twitter.

The government as a matter of urgency must address the points raised here. We want to believe that our rulers have our best interest at heart.