It’s been about two weeks since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made the removal of fuel subsidy pronouncement. As expected, Nigerians expressed mixed reactions, stakeholders took different stands, but today, voices seem to have synchronized.
Perhaps, all dissenting opinions have been silenced, or better put, overwhelmed by the inevitable. The stark reality now is, that Nigeria must and indeed, has done away with fuel subsidy.
Consequently, the price of petrol skyrocketed from ₦195 to between ₦488 and ₦557 per litre. Obviously, Nigerians will have to grapple with the increased inflation that is sequel to the whole chart. It is against this backdrop that a public policy expert, Mr. Chukwuma Udeh, has posed the questions, what next? What is the plan for the poor masses?
Recall that the Federal Government had, under former President Muhammadu Buhari, borrowed $800 million from the World Bank, to be used as palliative, to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal on Nigerians.
According to Mr. Udeh, President Tinubu’s government has not shown the political will that it wants to alleviate the sufferings of the people in that regard. He said, “The palliative is supposed to have been put in place before the increase in fuel price. It’s been about 2 weeks now, yet nothing. Maybe they don’t think is necessary.”
“And the truth is that Nigerians are very adaptive and resilient too. As it is now, they have almost adjusted fully to the situation. NLC and TUC have been muted. Protests don’t help issues in this country. There’s nobody to fight for the masses. And so anything goes,” he lamented.
The other day, President Tinubu was appealing to traditional leaders to persuade Nigerians into having faith that the price of petrol will some come down. So, concerned Nigerians have been asking, what about the $800 million?
Meanwhile, different groups have been calling for government intervention. In response, the Federal Government has repeatedly said that plans are underway to mitigate the sufferings which the hike in fuel price is causing the people.
In a recent statement, the Kano State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), called out, “Government and other stakeholders should quickly create and provide ways and means to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy withdrawal on the public.”
Similarly, the House of Representatives, IPMAN, NLC, TUC and other groups have called for different measures to be adopted in order that the effect may not be too harsh on Nigerians.
Last week, President Tinubu reportedly directed the Vice President Kashim Shettima led National Economic Council (NEC) to begin the process of providing interventions to ameliorate the impact of removal of subsidy on fuel on the people.
The Group CEO of NNPC Ltd was also quoted as saying, “I am aware that Mr President has directed some engagement and some palliatives will be put in place, and I am very sure this will happen.”
On why nothing has been done yet, Mr. Udeh said, “The delay is nothing unusual. It is what is known as the Nigerian factor. Some people have to die first and many others impoverished the more, before maybe, money will be released to cater for them.
“And even then, the money will be released chiefly on Newspapers, Radio and Television as usual. Few selected individuals will receive some token, while the bulk of the money will be diverted into private pockets. It happened during COVID-19 and End-SARS protest. Hopefully, it will be different under this administration,” he expressed.
Yes, fuel subsidy is gone and there is no going back, authorities have said. But is that all? Nigerians are still asking.
