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‘’Consequently, it is critically important that the new government approaches the removal of the subsidy with caution to circumvent further degeneration in the economy,’’ he admonished.
An economist, Mr Tajudeen Ibrahim, said, “It will have an inflationary impact on the economy. But in the medium to long term, the benefits to the economy are enormous because they will be investing the subsidy in projects that will drive economic activities and put Nigeria on a stronger footing in terms of economic growth, these are my expectations.”
He said, “There is nothing to say anymore that we have not said. Bola Tinubu said he was going to continue with the policies of Muhammadu Buhari, which are policies of pain, anguish, sorrow, suffering, disregard for human lives and insensitivity. It is Biblical in that a man said ‘My father chastised you with a whip, I will chastise you with scorpions. Scorpions are more deadly than a whip.’
“In 2012 when the then government of Goodluck Jonathan mooted the idea of a gradual phase-out of petroleum subsidy and presented a roadmap of how to go about it, it was Buhari who mobilized Nigerians to ground the country. Now, those who participated in that ‘Operation Ground Nigeria’ have lost their voices and we hope they will be permanently silent,” he added.
The Chief Spokesman for Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, knocked Tinubu for failing to consult properly before making his pronouncement on subsidy withdrawal. “So I don’t think he should be exonerated from the causes of this particular problem. Because obviously, the mad rush, long queues and panic buying started after he made that statement. Now, we are all suffering for it. It is a case of ‘suffering meeting another suffering’ or as some will say ‘from frying pan to fire’ raised to power two.”
“Since the fuel subsidy regime still subsists till the middle of the year, the president should have been silent on it. To declare matter-of-fact in such a tactless manner that “subsidy is gone” allows unpatriotic oil marketers to cause the harrowing experiences that Nigerians are going through at the moment,’’ the group stated.
He advised that “The president should have provided a leeway by making provisions to cushion the effect on workers. The marketers are Shylocks, they still had fuel in their tanks before the pronouncement, why the sudden 500 per cent increment? The government did not mean well at all. There are variances in prices all over the country. It will affect the system, this is not the best at all.”
“I may not agree with the bombshell pattern of this withdrawal but let’s just move on. We also believe that our governments will not wait for workers to start agitating for salary increment as part of the cushion but will do the right thing by increasing workers’ salary by about 200 per cent.’’ He said, “I am out of the country but my priest told me how he had to buy fuel for N14,000 that did not even fill half of his tank and that is to tell you that the hardship will be experienced throughout the nation. I just hope that this is something temporary and that it can be addressed.
“If Nigerians couldn’t protest then, why now? Is it only when Jonathan was in power they could organize protests? This is the absurdity of our nation. Protest or no protest, Nigerians are to pay a price for the choice they have made, rightly or wrongly.”
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