FUEL SUBSIDY REMOVAL IN NIGERIA: ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS ON NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. A STUDY OF SELECTED LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS IN THREE GEO-POLITICAL ZONES OF EBONYI STATE

Abstract

Subsidy as a concept in the social science literature with its intents and practice has been applied in virtually all sectors of national economy. Nigerian government in her bid to avert the consequences of monopolistic  tendencies of private sector  decided to apply the principle of subsidy  as a policy option in such critical sectors as agriculture, public  utilities, oil and natural  resources, trade and industry, all to the benefit of the  citizenry. Subsidy is a policy design by the government in which certain amount of money is paid  to reduce prices of goods and services for the  benefit of the governed. However, the rising cases of fuel subsidy removal andthe attendant implication on the economy of the nationcallfor serious concern by all and sundry.  Obviously, in the light of the forgoing, this paper is designed to investigate why the government of the state among other sectors of the economy  decides to  remove the  subsidy on  Premium Motor Spirit (PMS)  and the consequences  resulting from such policy. The paper finds out whether the government has some   palliatives to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal and  to recommend measures which if  adopted by the government and other stakeholders in  the management of the economy  would go a long way in ensuring a  viable and sustainable economy in Nigeria.