The Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer, Oando
Plc, Mr. Femi Adeyemi has said that the
Federal Government has spent about N9tn on oil subsidy in the last 10
years.
He therefore advised the Federal Government to drop oil
subsidy in order to enhance infrastructural development and economic growth.
He said this just as the Government College Ibadan Old Boys
Association said it had just set up the Government College Ibadan Educational
Foundation to address infrastructural deficit in their Alma Mata.
He told the gathering which included the Chairman, Punch
Nigeria Limited, Mr. Wale Aboderin, that the foundation would raise N250m to
build boarding facilities, house masters’ quarters and embark on other projects
in the school.
The National President, GCIOBA, Mr. Biodun Jolaoso, said
this during the 2017 Annual Luncheon and Merit Awards of the Lagos Branch of
the association on Sunday.
While noting that the association would lead a new
management board of the school, Jolaoso added that the association would ensure
a rigorous admission process for new intakes into the school in September.
He said, “The Oyo State Government has set up School
Management Boards for all secondary schools in the state including the GCI. The boards have been inaugurated and 12
scholarships have been awarded. GCI has suffered a lot of neglect from the
state government, hence our concerted efforts for its restoration.”
In his speech, the Chairman, GCIOBA Lagos Branch, Mr. Yomi
Akinyeye, said the branch would soon acquire a property to host its meetings
and other events.
He added, “We commend the Federal Government for its courage
and determination in downgrading the Boko Haram sect, provision of lifeline to
states to pay workers’ salaries, negotiate with the private sector to stem the
tide of job losses and the whistle-blowing policy that is leading to the
recovery of billions of naira hopefully to the national treasury.”
The Chairman of the occasion, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola, who
commended the Lagos branch of the association, appreciated notable members of
GCIOBA for their contributions towards the development of the school and the
education sector in general.
While commending the GCIOBA 2017 Merit Award Winners,
Ogunshola challenged other members of the association to put in more hard work
to boost their chances of being recognised in future by the association.
The chairman commended the keynote speaker, Adeyemo, who is
the Chief Financial Officer of Oando, for laudable feats he had achieved in his
career.
Ogunshola described Adeyemo as a world-class financial
consultant and a management expert
Adeyemo, who delivered a paper with the theme, ‘Oil subsidy,
a perspective from the field’, noted that the Federal Government was spending between
N750bn and N1tn on oil subsidy every year.
He argued that the amount the Federal Government spent on
oil subsidy on an annual basis was more than the last annual budget of Lagos
State estimated at N662bn.
Seventy per cent of the benefits of oil subsidy, according
to him, accrues to only a few Nigerians.
“We are not looking at kerosene subsidy that actually
impacts the poor. The price of kerosene has increased by about 300 per cent in
the last 18 months,” he added.
Adeyemo said there was a need to channel the huge funds
spent on oil subsidy on an annual basis on infrastructure in order to make the
country a better place for all.
He said, “I think we need to drop subsidy rather than look
at it as our own share of the national cake. The amount spent on subsidy can be
used to develop infrastructure, when we do that, the future generation can be
said to benefit from crude oil.”
PUNCH
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