Politics

Obasanjo Claims Fuel Subsidy is Reinstated Despite Tinubu’s Removal Statement

Published by Tope Fakinlede on August 6th, 2024.

Obasanjo Claims Fuel Subsidy is Reinstated Despite Tinubu’s Removal Statement

Obasanjo and Tinubu

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has asserted that the fuel subsidy, which President Bola Tinubu’s administration claimed to have removed in 2023, has been effectively reinstated due to escalating inflation.

Obasanjo’s statement contradicts Tinubu’s assertion during his inauguration on May 29, 2023, where he announced the permanent removal of the fuel subsidy. The elimination of the subsidy had led to a dramatic rise in petrol prices, soaring from approximately ₦200 to over ₦600 per litre.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Obasanjo criticized the government’s strategy, arguing that appropriate measures should have been implemented before removing the subsidy. He pointed out that the subsidy had, in effect, been reintroduced as a response to the current high inflation rates.

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done. It’s not enough to simply declare the subsidy removed. Due to inflation, the subsidy we thought was abolished has effectively returned,” Obasanjo stated.

He also stressed the importance of shifting from a transactional to a transformational economy to boost investor confidence in Nigeria.

Amid ongoing nationwide protests calling for the reinstatement of the fuel subsidy, President Tinubu recently reiterated his stance against reviving it. In a Sunday broadcast, Tinubu described the removal of the subsidy as “painful but necessary,” asserting that it was a major impediment to economic growth and likening it to a “noose around the economic jugular of our nation.”