Tinubu had no plans what to do after subsidy removal, Obaseki laments

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has slammed the President Bola Tinubu administration over the distribution of palliatives to Nigerians to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy and the attendant hardship placed on Nigerians.

Obaseki who made his feelings known during a press conference in Benin City on Wednesday, said he was both “shocked and scared” of the inability of the federal government to plan and effectively respond to the fuel subsidy removal that has inflicted hardship and suffering on the people.

Obaseki who described the palliative distribution as fraudulent, said the country’s situation was taking a turn for the worse due to bad policies by the Tinubu’s administration.

“I have always warned. I warned Nigerians during the last May Day this year. I told them that we have come to the end of the road and that the old economic order in Nigeria is gone and we have to come up with a new economic order and stop deceiving ourselves as a nation,” the Edo governor said.

Read also: APC claims Obaseki inciting Edo people against Tinubu, to hide his ‘incompetence

“I am shocked that people who campaigned around the country, saying that they will remove subsidies, had no clear plans on what to do after subsidy removal. They don’t know what to do and how to support those who will be victims of subsidy removal.

“Now the subsidy is gone; the exchange rate is being aligned. The era of free money has almost come to an end. The consequence is that the weakest and most vulnerable in our society, unfortunately, will carry a huge part of the burden of these policies.

“I am shocked and scared of what we are passing through today, where the government doesn’t seem to have a plan or solution on how to respond to the consequences of the policy measure put in place by their administration.

“With the way they have mismanaged our national economy, we have to deal with inflation, between 20 and 25 per cent. It means that the people will feel more pain, especially the weak and vulnerable in the society, particularly our pensioners, as whatever they get as their entitlement will do only little for them.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now