Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, emphasised that the situation in Nigeria would have been even direr if the fuel subsidy had not been eliminated.
Idris made this assertion during his appearance on Thursday via Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
He defended the decision to remove the subsidy on premium motor spirit, commonly referred to as petrol.
During his presidential inauguration speech at Eagle Square, Abuja in May 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made a resolute statement, affirming that the era of subsidy has come to an end.
Tinubu emphasised that the subsidy can no longer be justified due to its escalating expenses amidst limited resources.
With the declaration, the price of petrol has steadily risen to about N600 per litre.
Read Also:
But during the interview, Idris said that President Tinubu and his team had to reset the economy.
He said, “You’re premising your argument on the fact this problem just started yesterday. The foundation of our economy had taken a beating a long time ago. The substructure of our national economy cannot hold a meaningful substructure.
“So, it is important that Nigerians recognise that the President and his team would have to go back to reset that and that is why from day one, he said, ‘Look, subsidy issue has to go’. He had to expect that there would be this pain, of course.
“He anticipated that Nigerians would encounter some difficulties. But it would be worse if that subsidy did not go. It would have been difficult to carry out any meaningful development. We needed to free up resources.
“Of course, everybody is being investigated. Security agencies are doing their jobs in that direction.”
