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Contrary to popular opinion, a former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, said President Bola Tinubu's decision to remove the petrol subsidy and reform the foreign exchange market has started yielding positive results.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain commended Tinubu for ending the subsidy regime, which he said former President Muhammadu Buhari should have done instead of borrowing to pay over ₦400bn monthly for the scheme.
He made these known while speaking on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, aired on Channels Television on Friday, March 8, 2024.
During his inauguration on May 29, 2023, the President announced that "subsidy is gone", and the pronouncement immediately triggered an astronomical increase in the fuel pump price from about ₦180 to over ₦600.
And coupled with the subsequent floating of the naira as part of the reforms in the financial sector, Nigerians are experiencing the worst food and hunger crises in over three decades.
As a result, protests have erupted in some parts of the country as citizens find living conditions increasingly unbearable.
However, Omokri said the current situation was inevitable due to rot inherited by the Tinubu government.
He also noted that all three major candidates in the 2023 presidential poll, including PDP's Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) — promised to remove the petrol subsidy.
“So, it amounts to intellectual dishonesty for anybody to begin to say Nigeria is collapsing. We are getting some wins right now.
“The naira has to be floated. We can’t afford multiple exchange rates.
“Fuel importation has reduced by more than 50%. That means the removal of fuel subsidy has worked. Local refining has also increased by 8%. So, we are actually seeing results,” he said.
Earlier, human rights activist and Labour Party sympathiser Dele Farotimi had claimed that the rule of law had collapsed in Nigeria.
Responding, Omokri said Nigeria remains a lawful country, adding that the Labour Party should accept its fate that it lost the 2023 presidential election.
“After the election, we have to come together and support Nigeria. Nigeria is moving forward right now, and we have to support Nigeria.
“That you did not win an election does not mean you should drag your country down.”
“There is rule of law in Nigeria,” said the Atiku campaigner.