There was one statistics we could not lay our hands on before going to press last week: the percentage of fuel stations in the country that are regularly dispensing premium motor spirit, pms. But one thing that was apparent is the growing sense of despondency that greets the mention of subsidy, due to the cost of fuel where available.
This is because hardly do people get filling stations that are dispensing fuel even at N100 per litre. The question on the lips of Nigerians who cajole and even tip attendants at filling stations to buy at rates higher than the official N87 per litre, is what gains are in the subsidy for us?
The reality is that people have to go about their daily business, to earn a living, even under a hash economic condition. The editorial board decided to look at details of what it takes to stick to subsidy on petroleum products, when the country is in a dire straits and when the people do not get the products to buy at the official rate.
Salif Atojoko, deputy general editor, business and special project was given the assignment to do the story. He raised a team, did research on what subsidy is taking from the purse of the country and whether the people who are supposed to benefit from the said subsidy are actually getting anything. He came up with some interesting discoveries chronicled in the story: Subsidy: Damn Stupid!
Truly the hunt for fuel may be stressful, but there is an activity that is even much more damning. It is the stress of marriage, which is giving many a couple a lot of heartache. Even then the challenge of marriage varies from one family to another. There are however, couples who are unable to cope with this stress and then decide to end the union. What causes breakup of marriages and who are the immediate victims of such dissolution? These and some other issues are what Olusegun Adeosun, staff writer, who worked on the story for weeks, explores in Roadblocks After Wedlock.
These stories form the gateway to the package in this edition.
Stay blessed.
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