Nigerians Minister of Information and Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed has justified President Buhari’s comparison of fuel pump price in Nigeria and the Saudi Arabian kingdom during his Independence day speech.
President Buhari had in his Independence day speech said “We sell petrol at N161 per liter when same is sold at N168 per liter in Saudi Arabia; N211 per liter in Egypt; N362 per liter in Ghana; N362 per liter in Chad, and N346 per liter in the Niger Republic. It does not make sense for petrol to be cheaper in Nigeria than Saudi Arabia.”
The President’s speech ignited a lot of controversy as critics from Nigerian who insisted that Saudi Arabia have a higher minimum wage, standard of living, and infrastructure than Nigeria.
However, Lai Mohammed has defended the Nigerian leader while featuring in a Radio Nigeria current affairs program, “Radio Link’’ in Abuja on Saturday, October 3. Where He said;
“Some people have asked why we should compare ourselves to Saudi Arabia with better infrastructure and higher wages. Our answer to that is very simple. Saudi Arabia has 34 million people while Nigeria has 200 million people. Saudi Arabia produces 10 million barrels of crude oil per day, while Nigeria produces at its best, 2.1 million barrels per day. Their population is about one-sixth of Nigeria’s population and they are blessed with more resources. Therefore, they can afford to pay higher wages and build infrastructure.”