Nigeria@63: Why Nigerians must endure pains of subsidy removal — Tinubu

On Nigeria’s 63rd Independence Day, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on the citizens to bear the hardships resulting from his choice to eliminate the fuel subsidy.

Recall that in his inaugural speech on May 29, he had announced the complete removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol.

Despite widespread protests and the impact on businesses and ordinary people, Tinubu has consistently argued that this decision is in the nation’s best interests.

During his first Independence Day address as Nigeria’s president, he reiterated that removing fuel subsidy is essential for the country’s progress, even though he acknowledges the challenges it poses to the citizens.

“I am attuned to the hardships that have come. I have a heart that feels and eyes that see. I wish to explain to you why we must endure this trying moment. Those who sought to perpetuate the fuel subsidy and broken foreign exchange policies are people who would build their family mansion in the middle of a swamp. I am different. I am not a man to erect our national home on a foundation of mud. To endure, our home must be constructed on safe and pleasant ground.

“Reform may be painful, but it is what greatness and the future require. We now carry the costs of reaching a future Nigeria where the abundance and fruits of the nation are fairly shared among all, not hoarded by a select and greedy few. A Nigeria where hunger, poverty and hardship are pushed into the shadows of a never-fading past.

“There is no joy in seeing the people of this nation shoulder burdens that should have been shed years ago. I wish today’s difficulties did not exist. But we must endure if we are to reach the good side of our future,” he said

Continuing, Tinubu stated that his administration is trying its best to ease the burden of subsidy on the people, announcing that the average low-grade worker will receive additional N25,000 for the next six months.

He added: “My government is doing all that it can to ease the load. I will now outline the path we are taking to relieve the stress on our families and households.

“We have embarked on several public sector reforms to stabilize the economy, direct fiscal and monetary policy to fight inflation, encourage production, ensure the security of lives and property and lend more support to the poor and the vulnerable.

“Based on our talks with labour, business and other stakeholders, we are introducing a provisional wage increment to enhance the federal minimum wage without causing undue inflation. For the next six months, the average low-grade worker shall receive an additional Twenty-Five Thousand naira per month.”