The Stand Up Nigeria movement has declared it’s support for President Tinubu on the removal of fuel Subsidy.
The National Coordinator, Sunday Attah declared their support during a solidarity match in Abuja on Thursday.
According to him, despite the initial reaction to the measure and the attendant panic buying and other impacts on the socio-economic life of Nigerians, we wish to state that the President has done the right thing by removing the subsidy as the advantages of doing so outweigh the disadvantages.
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The announcement on the 29th May 2023, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that the subsidy on fuel has been removed has come with mix feelings.
While some have hailed it as apt and timely others have expressed reservation that it may cause further hardship on the citizenry.
You will recall that the President anchored the policy on the fact that there was no provision for subsidy payment in the 2023 budget hence cannot be sustained.
Apart from that, the country was bleeding seriously through many leakages occasioned by corruption in high places chiefly among which are the claims on subsidy payments to many firms.
After observing the initial reaction to the measure and the attendant panic buying and other impacts on the socio economic life of Nigerians, we wish to state that the President has done the right thing by removing the subsidy as the advantages of doing so outweigh the disadvantages.
We have observed that the initial hiccups of long queues at the fuel stations have disappeared while access to petroleum products have become easier and guaranteed as people can now drive into filling stations and refill their tanks without wasting unnecessary man hours on queues.
This means that problem of fuel scarcity and the attendant hardship on citizens has been solved and people can now use their times for other productive engagements.
The Nigeria Customs Service have also reported that smuggling of petroleum products has drastically reduced thereby saving the country from loss of revenue through the granting of subsidy to buyers in other countries.
The theft and diversion of Nigeria’s natural resources has gone on for years due to porous boarders and these have negatively affected the economy.
What we now have as a result of subsidy removal is responsible consumption and the reduction of waste as the prices become more market reflective.
We have seen how many of these black market filling stations that were benefitting from huge subsidies at the expense of Nigeria closing shop.
The removal has freed up funds for other public services, including health and infrastructure projects by stopping corruption around what is known as the subsidy regime, which has made some individuals stupendously rich without investment in the economy.
Nigeria was losing an average of N400bn monthly in fuel subsidy payments. The government recently announced that it has been able to save the amount since the stoppage of subsidy regimes a month ago which means that in just three months, over a trillion naira would be saved and this will enable the government use the money to build other sectors like education, health, and other infrastructural development.
Experts say the removal of subsidy will also make the revamping of domestic refineries imperative and will stimulate the economy by the time the refineries function at optimal levels.
From all these, it obvious that the President Tinubu led administration has done the right thing and should be supported to deliver on the dividends of democracy.
The opposition and those elements opposed to the measure should know that election is over and all hands must be on deck to support the government to do what is right and in the interest of the people of the country.
Past administrations have attempted to remove fuel subsidies but have not been successful due to opposition on the wrong belief that the implication of subsidy removal is just the increase in price of fuel.
There was also the suspicion that the proceeds made from the removal will be embezzled and the gains will not get to the intended beneficiaries.
But President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has shown that he has the integrity to use the funds for the development of the country and has announced a number of palliatives to cushion the effects of the increase in the price of fuel.
We believe other measures would follow that will make Nigerians willing to see the increase in price of petroleum products as a necessary sacrifice for growing the economy.
By the time the monies freed from subsidy removal are appropriated and ploughed back into the economy and all sectors begin to witness quantum growth, Nigerians would begin to see the positive effects of subsidy removal.
Thank you.
Sunday Attah,
National Coordinator.