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Yakubu Dogara, former Speaker of the House of Representatives says President Bola Tinubu is not responsible for the removal of subsidy on petroleum products.
Dogara said the president merely announced the removal, when he said ‘subsidy is gone’ on May 29, 2023, during his inauguration ceremony, but did not put the policy in motion.
The former speaker explained that the policy had been in place before Tinubu was elected as no provision was made for subsidy payment in the budget approved by the National Assembly.
Speaking on Channels TV on Friday, September 27, 2024, the ex-speaker dismissed the claim that Tinubu suspended subsidy payment.
He said, “In this case, there was no provision for it, and anybody who told you he (Tinubu) suspended it was just joking because how did he suspend payment that was not budgeted for in the first instance?
“There was no provision for subsidy in that budget and I am not aware of any amendment that took place to accommodate the payment of subsidy. The truth is that he (Tinubu) was not the one who removed the subsidy. But he did make that pronouncement.”
Dogara’s advice to Nigerians
The Bauchi politician also frowned at how Nigerians comment about the country’s challenges, saying everyone including elites only talk about the problems without proffering solutions.
“The problem with this country is that people always want to talk about her problems and they want to leave Nigeria because of it as if these problems are not there in other climes. But nobody is talking about solutions, even among the elites. When you sit with them, everyone is talking about the problems and not solutions,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to accept the reality of fuel subsidy removal, adding there was no way Tinubu could have helped the situation because the Muhammadu Buhari administration did not make provision for it in the 2023 budget.