Obasanjo Claims Fuel subsidy Is back In Nigeria

Posted by Nwa Diokpa Business News, Featured, Latest Headlines Tuesday, August 6th, 2024

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Former Nigeria’s President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has stated that the fuel subsidy that was earlier removed by the Federal Government in 2023, has been brought back because of the rising inflation.

Obasanjo’s statement is coming on the heels of President Bola Tinubu’s inauguration speech that subsidy was abolished.

The removal of subsidy immediately led to an increase in petrol prices, which moved from around ₦200 to over ₦600 per litre.

Obasanjo, during an interview with the Financial Times, slammed the government’s approach to the subsidy removal as he stated that more preparatory measures should have been put in place.

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done. Not just wake up one morning and say you removed the subsidy. Because of inflation, the subsidy that we have removed is not gone. It has come back,” he stated.

Obasanjo also talked about the need of building the confidence of investors in Nigeria nas he called for a shift from the transactional to a transformational economy.

It is worth recalling that the re-introduction of the fuel subsidy is part of the key demands of the on-going nationwide protests.

However, President Tinubu, during his broadcast, dismissed the possibility of reintroducing the subsidy.