Former House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, has discord that President Bola Tinubu did not initiate the removal of the fuel subsidy, despite making the announcement.
Dogara explained that the policy had already been set in motion prior to Tinubu’s election, as there was no provision for subsidy payments in the budget passed by the National Assembly.
During an interview on Channels TV on Friday, Dogara stated that while Nigerians are feeling the effects of the subsidy removal, it was a necessary step for the country’s progress.
He added that discussions often focus on Nigeria’s problems rather than solutions, especially among the elites.
Dogara said: “The problem with this country is that people always want to talk about her problems and they want to leave Nigeria because of it as if these problems are not there in other climes. But nobody is talking about solutions, even among the elites. When you sit with them, everyone is talking about the problems and not solutions,” Dogara said.
“In this case, there was no provision for it, and anybody who told you he (Tinubu) suspended it was just joking because how did he suspend payment that was not budgeted for in the first instance?
“There was no provision for subsidy in that budget and I am not aware of any amendment that took place to accommodate the payment of subsidy. The truth is that he (Tinubu) was not the one who removed the subsidy. But he did make that pronouncement.
“In addressing this, we must accept whether we like it or not unless we are being disingenuous.
“Whether the President said the subsidy was gone or he was removing the subsidy, we all know that subsidy had been removed before he was elected. There was no provision for it in the budget and you know the budget is backed by the constitution. If there’s no provision for it in the budget, then how do you pay for it?”
The President announced the removal of the fuel subsidy during his inauguration on May 29, 2023, citing the absence of subsidy provisions in the national budget starting from June 2023.
