I have no regret removing petrol subsidy – Tinubu
Nigerian President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Monday, during his first presidential media chat, admitted that he has no regret removing subsidies on petrol.
When asked if, based on hindsight and the impact of his policies, he should have implemented the petrol subsidy removal and floating of the naira in phases, Tinubu said he did the right thing with the abrupt announcement of petrol subsidy removal during his inauguration on 29 May 2023.
“I have no regret removing petrol subsidy”, he said.
Mr Tinubu had, in his inaugural address on 29 May 2023, announced the removal of the subsidy to lift a significant financial burden off the back of the government.
The policies have engineered Nigeria’s worst cost-of-living crises in a generation, with food prices increasing by over 200 per cent since Mr Tinubu assumed office.
Also, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the unification of all segments of the Nigerian forex market.
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The bank collapsed all official windows into the Investors & Exporters (I&E) window. This subsequently led to the close of the spread between the official and unofficial market segments.
On Monday, the president explained that the removal of subsidy on petrol and the harmonisation of forex were necessary to ensure a sustainable future for all Nigerians.
“We were spending our future. We were spending our generation’s fortune. We were not investing. We were just deceiving ourselves. Those reforms are necessary,” he added.
Source: Premium Times
