PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu will go down in history as the first Nigerian leader to trigger a national crisis in his very first hour in office.
Amid the current asphyxiating socioeconomic climate, his impetuous “subsidy is gone!” declaration at his inauguration immediately triggered panic buying of petrol, whose pump prices rose by over 250 per cent, and instant increases in food and transportation costs. Labour unions are threatening a general strike, apprehension is widespread, and tensions have risen higher in the country.
While there is no dispute that at an advertised N4 trillion in just six months, the subsidy regime is unsustainable and should be stopped, the debate over when, how, and other measures that should accompany its removal were never resolved. Already, the impact has hit the middle class and the most vulnerable households rather hard. With prices per litre ranging from N488 to N700 per litre in most cities and as high as N800 to N1,000 in some hinterland areas, transportation fares and food prices have correspondingly spiked.
Praised by supporters, the gamble is expected to deliver positive outcomes, including significant savings, easing the pressure on lean public revenues 96 per cent of which is currently spent on debt servicing, free funds for lending to the real sector by banks, and for infrastructure, social services, and investment by the government, as well as facilitate the return of private marketers to petrol importation.
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