What’s behind Nigeria’s fuel panic?
A surprise announcement by the new president leads to a rush on the pumps.
A week ago, Bola Tinubu was sworn in as President of Nigeria.
Amid his inauguration ceremony he announced that the country's 'fuel subsidy is gone'.
His statement caught people’s attention and many people headed to gas stations to stock up on fuel. People waited for hours in queues, often finding filling stations closed or charging much higher prices.
The decades-long subsidy has kept down the price of petroleum products, hence the rush to the pumps.
So, are people right to be concerned about the implications of the announcement? What might the upsides be? And how can it be that Nigeria is so oil rich, and yet has problems producing its own fuel?
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