By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has once again defended his administration’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy, saying it was indispensable to prevent the country from going bankrupt.
He made the statement on Sunday as one of the panellists at the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, monitored by Business Post.
Recall that Mr Tinubu announced the removal of subsidy on petrol the day he was inaugurated into office on May 29, 2023, saying that subsidy is gone. This led to increases in the prices of commodities to rise through the roof, increasing hardship in the country.
However, recent revelations have shown that subsidy remains, a fact that the administration has not acknowledged. The IMF had in February said the policy has returned.
Yet during the session, President Tinubu justified the petrol subsidy removal, maintaining that it was needed to reset the economy.
“For Nigeria, we are immensely consistent with the belief that the economic collaboration and inclusiveness are necessary to engender stability in the rest of the world.
“Concerning the question of the subsidy removal, there is no doubt that it was a necessary action for my country not to go bankrupt, to reset the economy and pathway to growth,” he said.
He admitted the difficulty associated with his decision to remove the policy which has allowed Nigerians to purchase petrol at cheaper rates for years but said that he was convinced it was in the best interest of the people.
“It is going to be difficult, but the hallmark of leadership is taking difficult decisions at the time it ought to be taken decisively. That was necessary for the country. Yes, there will be blowback, there is an expectation that the difficulty in it will be felt by a greater number of the people, but once I believe it is their interest that is the focus of the government, it is easier to manage and explain the difficulties.
“Along the line, there is a parallel arrangement to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal on the vulnerable population of the country. We share the pain across the board, we cannot but include those who are vulnerable.
“Luckily, we have a very vibrant youthful population interested in discoveries by themselves and they are highly ready for technology, good education committed to growth. We can manage that and partition the economic drawback and the fallout of subsidy removal.”
President Tinubu also said that the petrol subsidy removal equally engendered accountability, transparency and physical discipline for the country.