Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticized the Tinubu administration's approach to removing fuel subsidies in June 2023.
Obasanjo argued that the government should have implemented supportive measures before eliminating the subsidy, noting that its return due to inflation undermines the initial decision.
He stated, "There’s a lot of work that needs to be done. Not just wake up one morning and say you removed the subsidy. Because of inflation, the subsidy that we have removed is not gone. It has come back."
Obasanjo emphasized the importance of building investor confidence and transitioning from a transactional to a transformational economy.
He remarked, "You have to go from transactional economy to transformational economy." His comments come amid ongoing hunger protests in Nigeria, which began on August 2, 2024, demanding the reinstatement of fuel subsidies.
The protests, which entered their fifth day on Monday, reflect widespread public discontent with the economic situation. In response, President Tinubu, in a Sunday broadcast, appealed to protesters to suspend their demonstrations.
He described the removal of the fuel subsidy as a "painful but necessary" step, arguing that it constituted a noose around the economic "jugular of our Nation and impeded our economic development and progress."
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