Abstract:
Fuel subsidy is critical to the Nigerian economy. It is argued that fuel subsidy for years has remained the only avenue through which the Nigerian government lived up to its socio-economic responsibility to its citizenry; and the attempt to withdraw this policy has been interpreted as a move by the government to default on its responsibility. This study, therefore, investigates the effects of fuel subsidy removal on national development in Nigeria between 1999 and 2012. The specific questions for investigation were: Does the incremental increases in the pump price of fuel undermine the living standard of Nigerians? Has the fuel subsidy probe improved on national revenue accounting? Did the mass protests that accompanied fuel price increase undermine the economic stability of Nigeria? Public choice theory was adopted as the theoretical framework of analysis. The Ex-post facto design was employed as the research design. Data from secondary sources such as books, journals and official documents were qualitatively analyzed. The findings revealed that the incremental increases in the pump price of fuel undermined the living standards of Nigerians. It also ascertained that fuel subsidy probe has not improved on national revenue accounting in Nigeria. Finally, the study demonstrated that the mass protests that accompany fuel price increases undermined the economic stability of Nigeria. The study recommends the need for government to embark on programs that would create more jobs to ameliorate the negative effects on poor and vulnerable groups in the face of increases in pump price of fuel.
