President Bola Tinubu in Sunday ruled out the return of fuel subsidy, which is among the demands of the ongoing #EndBadGovernance protesters nationwide.
Tinubu in a nationwide broadcast to Nigerians on Sunday morning said the decision to remove fuel subsidy on May 29th 2023, was painful but necessary.
He stated that fuel subsidy removal was necessary because it has constituted a noose around the economic “jugular of our Nation and impeded our economic development and progress”.
According to him, “My vision for our country is one of a just and prosperous nation where each person may enjoy the peace, freedom, and meaningful livelihood that only democratic good governance can provide – one that is open, transparent and accountable to the Nigerian people.
“For decades, our economy has remained anaemic and taken a dip because of many misalignments that have stunted our growth. Just over a year ago, our dear Country, Nigeria, reached a point where we couldn’t afford to continue the use of temporary solutions to solve long-term problems for the sake of now and our unborn generations.
“I therefore took the painful yet necessary decision to remove fuel subsidies and abolish multiple foreign exchange systems which had constituted a noose around the economic jugular of our Nation and impeded our economic development and progress”, he said.
The President revealed that these actions “blocked the greed and the profits that smugglers and rent-seekers made. They also blocked the undue subsidies we had extended to our neighbouring countries to the detriment of our people, rendering our economy prostrate.
“These decisions I made were necessary if we must reverse the decades of economic mismanagement that didn’t serve us well. Yes, I agree, the buck stops on my table. But I can assure you that I am focused fully on delivering the governance to the people – good governance for that matter”.
He also reeled out measures his administration has taken towards reducing hunger and appealed to #EndBadGovernance protesters to come forward for dialogue.
He further urged Nigerians youths not to allow a few greedy elites to use them to derail Nigerian democracy; Just as he commiserated with families who lost their loved ones during the nationwide protests.
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