Former President Muhammadu Buhari did not remove the gasoline subsidy as outlined in the Oil Industry Law because, among other reasons, doing so would have cost his party the 2023 general election, an aide said.
Buhari’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, in a statement on Monday, said taking such action close to the general election could have been detrimental to the ruling APC party.
“The Buhari administration in its last days could not have gone all the way because the APC had to win an election. And that would have been the case for any political party seeking elections for another term with a new director at the helm.
“Poll after poll showed that the party would have been ousted from office if the decision under the new Oil Industry Law had been taken,” Shehu wrote in a statement defending his director from criticism after the early removal of gasoline subsidy by Mr. Buhari’s successor, Bola Tinubu.
Mr. Tinubu announced the removal of the gasoline subsidy during his inaugural speech on May 29, causing gasoline prices to rise by almost 200 per cent, from around N200 to over N500.
The government and many analysts have defended removing the subsidies, saying the country lacks the resources to continue doing so amid declining economic fortunes. Nigeria spent over N4 trillion subsidizing gasoline in 2022.
However, critics say the removal of the gasoline subsidy has further impoverished Nigerians, raising the price of goods and services, in a country where about half the population lives in poverty.
In his statement on Monday, Mr. Shehu also said that the decision to remove the subsidy by the immediate previous administration was “signaled and put on hold” for a better time.
BUHARI DID NOT FAIL TO REMOVE THE SUBSIDY.
Why did the new Tinubu/Shettima presidency take weeks to remove the gasoline subsidy when Buhari did not for years? You don’t ask the right question.
The massive electricity subsidy. The fraudulent subsidy to fertilizers. Hayy/Cristian… pic.twitter.com/OCGhR0iQr3
— Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) June 26, 2023
“The removal of the subsidies for Naira and PMS was noted and suspended. Look, for example, at the Oil Industry Law. The important decision was saved for a better time,” he said.
The former presidential spokesman emphasized that the decision to remove the fuel subsidy could not take place at a time of great tension in the country.
“…no responsible leader would have added fuel to the fire,” he said.
Shehu said the Buhari administration believed in removing the subsidies and had done so in other areas, such as the fertilizer subsidy.
“That is why it is important to remind ourselves, and all those who have conveniently forgotten, that the Buhari administration has been on this path since the beginning in 2015,” he said.
Although the Buhari administration did not remove the gasoline subsidy, it only provided for the subsidy in the 2023 budget until June 30; thus leaving his successor to decide whether to extend it or not. However, Mr. Tinubu did not allow the subsidy to continue until the end of June as foreseen in the budget, ending immediately after his inauguration.
Read Mr. Shehu’s full statement below.
BUHARI DID NOT FAIL TO REMOVE THE SUBSIDY.
Why did the new Tinubu/Shettima presidency take weeks to remove the gasoline subsidy when Buhari did not for years? You don’t ask the right question.
The massive electricity subsidy. The fraudulent subsidy to fertilizers. Hajj/Christian Pilgrim Grants. Do you remember them?
Diesel subsidy. Aviation fuel subsidy. L.F.O. Kerosene. The cooking gas and other subsidy policies we found in place, and we put them firmly in the ground. Do you remember them?
For those with short memory, many of those subsidies were in place when President Buhari was elected to office in 2015: all those in his place were gone by May 2023, including the annual fertilizer subsidy that weighed between 60 and 100 billion naira (that’s a trillion naira). in about 10 years, yes, he read that right) in the federal budget each year.
So no, Buhari did not remove the gasoline subsidy, but in vital stages he did remove all other budget-crushing, egregious subsidies that crush economic growth along the way.
So far I have refrained from answering these repeated questions about Nigeria’s removal of subsidies to Premium Motor Spirit, PMS and the derivative of dual Naira rates in the Central Bank and the parallel market: Why Buhari? failed” to do these?
First of all, my opinion is that instead of the ex-president answering this question, it is the Party, All Progressives Congress, APC that is best prepared to speak and by not doing so we are forced to say what will follow here.
Secondly, we are cognizant of the fact that with a Tinubu/Shettima presidency now in place and for which there is a “New Sheriff in Town”.
We do not want to distract them from the onerous tasks facing them and the nation. It is also not our desire to take away from them in any way.
As for the timing of decisions to remove fuel subsidies and unify the currency, the Tinubu/Shettima administration has done overwhelmingly well. Even more important, they have been more adept at managing the consequences of decisions by successfully avoiding any crisis.
In this regard, our wish and prayers are that our compatriots continue to support the new leadership in these very laudable decisions and, in particular, that the Labor leadership and civil society work with them to ensure that the promised relief efforts are carried out with success. implemented.
The decision to remove the subsidies, as in our case – and we believe that in all situations – was not made by the President alone.
That is why it is important to remind ourselves, and all those who have conveniently forgotten, that the Buhari administration has been on this path since the beginning in 2015.
The removal of the subsidies for Naira and PMS was noted and suspended. Look, for example, at the Oil Industry Law. The important decision was saved for a better time.
It could not have come at a time when tensions were high in the country and no responsible leader would have added fuel to the fire.
In the opinion of many, including those in security circles, only a new administration with a goodwill filling a warehouse can attempt this, and now comes the ingenuity and courage of the Tinubu government.
Finally, we must be politically honest with ourselves. The Buhari administration in its last days could not have gone all the way because the APC had to win an election. And that would have been the case for any political party seeking elections for another term with a new director at the helm.
Poll after poll showed that the party would have been ousted from office if the decision provided for in the new Oil Industry Law had been taken.