Garba Shehu, a spokesperson for former President Muhammadu Buhari, has said the decision to continue with the fuel subsidy in the final months of the Buhari administration was driven by a need to protect President Tinubu’s chances in February’s election.
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Mr Shehu tweeted on Monday evening that it became necessary to respond following recent comments criticizing Mr Buhari’s failure to end the fuel subsidy despite years of threatening to do so.
According to Mr Shehu, tensions were high near the conclusion of Buhari’s presidency, making it difficult for the president to sign off on the removal of the subsidy.
“In the view of many-including those in the security circles, only a new administration with goodwill that fills a warehouse can attempt this, and here now comes the wit and grit of the Tinubu government,” Mr Shehu tweeted.
It didn’t help that it was an election year, Mr Shehu said in his tweets. As President, Mr Buhari had a responsibility not to sanction policies that would harm his party’s chances in the election, he added.
“Finally, we must be politically honest with ourselves. The Buhari administration in its last days could not have gone the whole way because the APC had an election to win,” Mr Shehu said.
“Poll after poll showed that the party would have been thrown out of office if the decision as envisaged by the new Petroleum Industry Act was made.”
Mr Shehu argued that the Buhari administration showed on countless occasions that it was not afraid to take tough decisions as it did with “the electricity subsidy, fertilizer subsidy, pilgrim subsidies, diesel subsidy and aviation fuel subsidy.”
He went on to commend President Tinubu on “avoiding any crisis” with the fuel subsidy removal and the rate unification.
“With the election now behind us, a capable leader as we now have in place is best positioned to move forward,” he said.
“We have nothing but confidence that the new administration will carry the nation and all its constituents into a stable future in the aftermath of these major economic and financial decisions.”
