President Tinubu reveals why he removed subsidy from fuel

President Bola Tinubu explained the reasons behind his decision to end the fuel subsidy regime in the country. He emphasized that the subsidy had to be discontinued because the nation could no longer sustain it financially.

According to President Tinubu in a natoionwide broadcast, the trillions of naira spent annually to sustain the fuel subsidy could be better utilized to improve critical sectors such as healthcare, transportation, education, housing, and national security, among others. The funds allocated to the subsidy were being diverted into the hands of a select group of individuals, who were benefitting from the system at the expense of the majority.

By ending the subsidy, President Tinubu aims to redirect the substantial financial resources to more pressing national needs, seeking to bring about positive changes and improvements in various areas crucial for the nation’s development and well-being.

“This group had amassed so much wealth and power that they became a serious threat to the fairness of our economy and the integrity of our democratic governance.

“To be blunt, Nigeria could never become the society it was intended to be as long as such small, powerful yet unelected groups hold enormous influence over our political economy and the institutions that govern it.

“The whims of the few should never hold dominant sway over the hopes and aspirations of the many. If we are to be a democracy, the people and not the power of money must be sovereign.

He maintained that Former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration saw the looming danger as well and it made no provision in the 2023 Appropriations for subsidy after June this year.

“Removal of this once helpful device that had transformed into a millstone around the country’s neck had become inevitable,” he said.