In response to media reports suggesting that President Bola Tinubu had removed fuel subsidy, former Minister Festus Keyamo has labelled these claims “mischievous.”
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that Keyamo took to Twitter to clarify that Tinubu did not remove fuel subsidy.
Recall that during his inaugural address, President Tinubu emphasised that there was no budgetary allocation for fuel subsidy in the 2023 budget. Instead, he pledged to redirect subsidy funds towards vital sectors such as infrastructure, education, and healthcare.
This generated reactions from sections of the country.
Responding to these reactions, Keyamo elucidated that President Tinubu inherited a system in which the 2023 Appropriation Act, as of June 2023, had no provision for subsidy, along with the Petroleum Industry Act.
He urged proponents of subsidy to explain why President Tinubu should start his term by reintroducing something that the law has already eliminated.
Additionally, Keyamo questioned why President Tinubu should engage in an illegal practice that drained $10 billion from scarce or unavailable resources in 2022 alone.
In his tweet, Keyamo stated, “Those claiming to defend the rights or welfare of workers should convince the Nigerian people that injecting $10 billion into the economy annually will not stimulate job creation and potentially raise the minimum wage they often complain about. This is the conversation that the Nigerian people are ready to engage in now.”
