President Bola Tinubu (file image)
Tinubu: I therefore took the painful yet necessary decision to remove fuel subsidies and abolish multiple foreign exchange systems which had constituted a noose around the economic jugular of our Nation and impeded our economic development and progress
By Valentine Amanze
Nigeria’s economic woos may linger despite the ongoing protest to reverse the trend, as President Bola Tinubu insists that the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) aka petrol subsidy removal must remain.
Tinubu also restated that the removal of the petrol subsidy was for the good of the nation.
Tinubu stated these in his broadcast on Sunday August 4, 2024 to over 200 million Nigerians after three days of unbroken nationwide #EndBadGovernance and economic hardship protests, without addressing other demands of the youths including the inability of the nation’s refinaries to become operational, corruption of government officials and insecurity.
His words: “For decades, our economy has remained anaemic and taken a dip because of many misalignments that have stunted our growth.
“Just over a year ago, our dear country, Nigeria, reached a point where we couldn’t afford to continue the use of temporary solutions to solve long-term problems for the sake of now and our unborn generations.
“I therefore took the painful yet necessary decision to remove fuel subsidies and abolish multiple foreign exchange systems which had constituted a noose around the economic jugular of our Nation and impeded our economic development and progress.
“These actions blocked the greed and the profits that smugglers and rent-seekers made. They also blocked the undue subsidies we had extended to our neighbouring countries to the detriment of our people, rendering our economy prostrate.
“These decisions I made were necessary if we must reverse the decades of economic mismanagement that didn’t serve us well. Yes, I agree, the buck stops on my table. But I can assure you that I am focused fully on delivering the governance to the people – good governance for that matter.”
Also read: Tension: Police shoot, tear-gas protesters in Abuja
The return of petrol subsidy has been one of the very clear demands of young Nigerians who took to the streets since Thursday to protest the economic woes confronting the country.
Tinubu, ex-Lagos governor, announced the removal of petrol subsidy during his inaugural speech as President on May 29, 2023.
The price per litre of the product jumped from around N184 to over N700 depending on where it is sold in the country.
The government simultaneously unified forex windows, with the value of the naira nosediving terribly from $1/N700 to over $1/1600 at the parallel market. Prices of food and basic commodities immediately climbed through the roof as Nigerians battled attendant inflation.
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