Commercial vehicle operators in Abuja have called on the Federal Government to first solve the immediate needs of the citizens before embarking on the removal of oil subsidy.
Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, Mr Amos Oladele, the Chairman, Self-Employed Commercial Drivers Association, Abuja chapter, said that the association had always been in support of any popular government policy.
``This is so because we believe that before the government comes up with a policy, it must have considered its effects on the masses.
``However, we need to advise the government to always start building its house from the foundation instead of starting from the roof top.
``The government should first solve the immediate and pressing needs of the people before talking about removing any subsidy.''
Oladele argued that oil subsidy removal would adversely affect all spheres of the nation's economy while the cost of transportation would go up.
``Government should first give the masses their own expectations, and the masses would in turn reciprocate such gesture by giving their cooperation and support for any policy that has a human face.''
Also reacting, a commercial bus driver, Mr Barnabas Idoko, appealed to the Federal Government not to remove the oil subsidy because marketers would capitalise on the situation to arbitrarily increase the prices of petroleum products.
Another driver, Mr Aneke Chika, told NAN that he did not understand the meaning of oil subsidy removal.
``It is better for the government to take its time to explain and enlighten the public on what the debate is all about and its benefit to the masses before implementing it,'' he said.
NAN recalls that the Federal Government has fixed January 2012 as the deadline for the removal of oil subsidy.
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