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The former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has described the current economic situation of Nigeria as a consequence of the ‘hasty decisions’ of President Bola Tinubu.
Lawal in an interview with TheCable said the president showed an unimaginable degree of arrogance and insensitivity by removing fuel subsidy without consultation.
He said Tinubu should have waited to set up his cabinet members and have a discussion with them before announcing the removal of fuel subsidy.
He said, “Taking such a spur-of-the-moment decision on that very important issue is very insensitive, and probably he (Tinubu) was ignorant of the challenges he was going to face. That was why everything came crashing down immediately after he was sworn in because of the removal of the fuel subsidy. He ought to have waited, formed a cabinet, got every relevant person in place, and held discussions among his advisers and the cabinet.”
The former SGF also criticised Tinubu for not providing alternatives for Nigerians like his predecessors did before declaring his decision on fuel subsidy.
He said, “When Abacha removed subsidy, he created the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) to channel the additional income into social development, and everybody today knows the various projects undertaken by the PTF, such as hospitals, schools, social services, and so on.
“When Olusegun Obasanjo removed the subsidy, he created SURE-P to renovate roads and carry out social services. I don’t understand how my friend Tinubu got this arrogance that he could do things radically different from others who were before him and get results.”
Lawal maintained that the economic hardship bedevilling the country is a consequence of Tinubu’s hasty decisions on fuel subsidy removal.