No going back on deregulation – Yar’Adua – Vanguard
November 6, 2009 by Bunmi Awolusi
President Umaru Yar’Adua has said that the deregulation of the downstream sub-sector of the petroleum industry is inevitable, but that government is still holding consultations with stakeholders on the necessity of the action.
Speaking with Baroness Glenys Kinnock, Britain’s Minister of State for Africa, at the State House, yesterday, President Yar’Adua said: “We are committed to deregulation, because we are convinced that subsidy distorts the system, encourages corruption and creates more problems than it solves. We are aware that initially, there will be pain, but these will be temporary and the whole nation will be the better for it”, he stated.
President Yar’Adua said the Petroleum Industry Bill, now before the National Assembly, is aimed at repositioning the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, to become a transparent, accountable and profitable business concern, existing without any budgetary provisions from government, and freed from its regulatory functions.
