The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called for the removal of subsidy on petroleum products to save money for investment in infrastructure.

LCCI gave the advice at its fuel subsidy awareness seminar on Tuesday in Lagos.

President of LCCI, Michael Olawale-Cole, noted that with a monthly payment of about N250 billion to subsidise fuel consumption, the sum of N3 trillion was provided in the 2022 federal government budget.

According to him, this additional expenditure against the projected revenue would lead to increased deficit financing significantly.

Mr Olawale-Cole said the implication was that the federal government would borrow more in 2022 to finance the deficit at a time when it was battling with revenue mobilisation challenges.

He added that Nigeria’s decision to postpone the full deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry by 18 months may cost the country over N4 trillion in subsidy payments in 2022.

He added, “There is a dire need for more infrastructure to support production, which would mean more job creation, poverty reduction, and improved economic growth.”

Mr Olawale-Cole noted that the chamber supported the full implementation of the PIA and the total deregulation of the oil and gas sector.

He added that the price of diesel, mostly used in industrial production and other heavy-duty operations, had risen above N720 per litre.

“This definitely has implications for production downtimes, rise in prices, and eventually loss of jobs if not curtailed on time.

“The most sustainable way to go is to increase our local refining capacity and save the huge spending of our forex on importation of fuel,” Mr Olawale-Cole said.

(NAN)