Former Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Prof. Tamunoemi David-West has excited Nigerians with an assertion about how much the pump price of petrol will be during the regime of Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s president-elect.
According to David-West, petrol pricewill drop sharply from the current N87 to about N40 per litre. “The president-elect, Gen. Mohammed Buhari, will reduce the fuel pump price to N40 per litre.”
“I want to assure you that by the timehe takes over, petrol will be dispensed at N40 per litre. This is possible and he has the credibility to make it work,” he told Vanguard in a telephone interview.
“The major assignment of the president-elect when he is eventuallyinaugurated is to restore confidence to the industry,” said David-West, who was federal minister of petroleum and energy from 1984-1985, under General Muhammadu Buhari when he was head of state.
He noted that Buhari was familiar with the petroleum industry, being a former Federal Commissioner (position now called Minister) for Petroleum and Natural Resources himself and a former chairman of theNigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He couples this experience with integrity and respect for democratic principles, according to David-West.
“As military head of state, he dealt with the Federal Executive Council with the tenets of democracy. Buhari will build new refineries to make petroleum products available for the masses. No responsible government will allow the masses to suffer.
“He will strengthen the refineries within a year. It is possible as we won’t spend any amount in setting up a green field refinery.“We already have a blueprint as we shall use what we have to get what we want,” he added.
Commenting on Buhari’s stance on fuel subsidy, David-West stated that on many occasions, the president–elect had disclosed that the subsidy initiative is a fraud which has distorted the progress expected in the sector.
He added that on countless occasions, he had argued that the country is forced to pay for scam carried out by oil cartel. This, he noted has been inhibiting efforts to properly carry-out the Turn AroundMaintenance (TAM) for the refineries.