Sylva, a former governor of oil-rich Bayelsa State, argued that the cost of petrol in Nigeria is still low in comparison to other countries while presenting President Muhammadu Buhari's scorecard in the petroleum sector as part of a media series organised by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture.
The product is already on the market in Nigeria, with costs ranging from N179 to N400 per litre.
Sylva was questioned about whether he would be comfortable purchasing petrol at N300 per litre when he left the ministry in a few months.
"If you ask me how I will feel as a private citizen buying petroleum items at N300 per litre, I will honestly answer that I won't feel awful knowing the genuine circumstances," he responded.
"And if you compare Nigeria to other nations, you would also understand, and if you also convert the N300 that you are talking about to other currencies, then, you would definitely understand.”
"You know, a lot of you travel to the UK, and a lot of you fly to the US. How much money do you spend on petroleum products? even in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries where crude oil is produced. When you convert it to what we buy in Nigeria in terms of Naira, you'll see that we're not doing too badly.
"But sadly, we are still in a subsidised regime, which all of us know, and we have come to a national agreement today that this subsidy is not sustainable.” But we'll make it. "We'll get there together."
(Source: eyewitnessngr.com)
