

Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticized the removal of fuel subsidies by President Bola Tinubu’s administration in June 2023, stating that the subsidies have effectively returned due to rampant inflation.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Obasanjo argued that the government’s approach to removing subsidies was flawed, as it failed to implement adequate measures to mitigate the impact on citizens. He emphasized that the administration should have put in place sufficient safeguards before eliminating the subsidies, to avoid the current situation where inflation has rendered the removal ineffective.
Obasanjo’s comments highlight concerns about the government’s economic policies and their impact on the Nigerian people.
“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,” the former President stressed.
He said there must be investor confidence in Nigeria.
“You have to go from transactional economy to transformational economy”, he added.
As the hunger protests in Nigeria enter their fifth day, former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s criticism of the fuel subsidy removal comes at a critical juncture.
The protests, which began on Thursday, have been fueled by demands for the reinstatement of the fuel subsidy regime. However, in a recent broadcast, President Bola Tinubu appealed to protesters to suspend their demonstrations, defending his administration’s decision to remove the subsidy as a necessary, albeit painful, measure.
According to Tinubu, the subsidy had become a significant obstacle to Nigeria’s economic development and progress, likening it to a “noose around the economic jugular of our Nation.
The President’s stance sets the stage for a continued showdown with protesters, who remain resolute in their demands for the subsidy’s return.
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