WHY I REMOVED FUEL SUBSIDY – TINUBU
Read Time:3 Minute, 3 Second
By David Peter
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has justified his policy toward the removal of the fuel subsidy. Tinubu departed Abuja on Saturday for Berlin, Germany, to attend the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA) Conference hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Speaking in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday at the 10th German-Nigerian Business Forum, President Tinubu described his historical feats as an unusual success in revolt against criminality in the country which has strung the citizens over the years in an enslaved poverty.
According to him “Nigerians voted for me for reforms and from day one of my inauguration. Tinubu professed, “I started the reform, day one.”
He sarcastically said “If you didn’t mention me in the Guinness Book of Records. I will try to find a way to insert myself.
“Because I did it without expectation. My inauguration speech didn’t disclose what I would do.
“I removed the fuel subsidy that is a great burden and pipeline to fraud and irregularities.”
Tinubu reiterated that the subsidy was a “great burden to Nigerians from the moment he stepped into office.”
Regardless, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu initially unveiled that his administration had redeemed over a trillion naira within months of the removal of fuel subsidies.
The president, who made this assertion during a nationwide broadcast said the money saved would have been whacked on the inefficient fuel subsidy which only benefitted contrabandists and fraudsters in the country.
His words “In a little over two months, we have saved over a trillion Naira that would have been squandered on the unproductive fuel subsidy which only benefitted smugglers and fraudsters.
“That money will now be used more directly and more beneficially for you and your families. For example, we shall fulfill our promise to make education more affordable to all and provide loans to higher education students who may need them. No Nigerian student will have to abandon his or her education because of lack of money.
“Our commitment is to promote the greatest good for the greatest number of our people. On this principle, we shall never falter. We are also monitoring the effects of the exchange rate and inflation on gasoline prices. If and when necessary, we will intervene.
“I assure you my fellow countrymen and women that we are exiting the darkness to enter a new and glorious dawn. Now, I must get back to work to make this vision come true,” he stated.
Tinubu also said part of his government’s program was to roll out buses across the states and local governments for mass transit at a much more affordable rate.
“We have made provision to invest N100 billion between now and March 2024 to acquire 3000 units of 20-seater CNG-fuelled buses.
“These buses will be shared with major transportation companies in the states, using the intensity of travel per capita. Participating transport companies will be able to access credit under this facility at 9% per annum with 60 60-month repayment period,” he stated.
In October 2023, President Tinubu fulfilled his promise by handing over the first CNG bus to the State House to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal. The Project Director of the Presidential CNG Initiative, Micheal Oluwagbemi also disclosed that State governments have already indicated investment interest in the CNG Buses.
Apiece, on Tuesday Mr. Taiwo Adisa, General Editor, Nigerian Tribune Newspapers interviewed Chief Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
The Adviser assured Nigerians that the “Tinubu government will fulfill the promises made to our people. As President Tinubu always says, he asked for the job. I have no doubt he will deliver,” Onanuga said.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
100 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0