The fuel subsidy scheme has been described as a sprawling web of patronage and mismanagement that encapsulates the dysfunction plaguing the continental powerhouse. Despite the insistence of the authorities that the subsidy system is over, many in the industry complain the government refuses to relinquish control. For Tunji Oyebanji, chairman of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, official action has fallen well short of the pronouncements. The current scrap over the fuel subsidy is just the latest tussle about change to a system that has helped some at the top grow seriously wealthy over the years. "With the crisis, the price of a barrel fell so low that there was nothing left to benefit anymore from the subsidy system," said one operator on condition of anonymity.

Source: Daily Nation June 14, 2020 05:37 UTC