”Nigeria would have gone bankrupt if we did not remove fuel subsidy” – President Tinubu
Written by Adeola Ibrahim on April 29, 2024
President Bola Tinubu on Sunday, at the Special World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, said that Nigeria would have gone bankrupt if his administration had not discontinued fuel subsidy payments.
Recall that one of the first courses of action, for President Tinubu upon assuming office in May 2023, was to implement the discontinuance of subsidies on petrol, just as prescribed by the previous administration.
He spoke that the move was envisaged to save the government money for infrastructural expansion.
In reality, this move effected the instability in the value of the Naira and heaped hardship on Nigerians as food prices skyrocketed.
At the WEF, Tinubu argued that removing the petrol subsidy was a “necessary action for my country not to go bankrupt” and to “reset the economy towards growth.”
Tinubu acknowledged the difficulties posed by the decision, He told attendees that his government implemented parallel arrangements to cushion the impact on vulnerable citizens.
He also described the unification of the naira exchange rates as “necessary” to “remove the artificial element of value in our currency.”
President Tinubu argued that the move enabled the local currency find its level, “compete with the rest of the world’s currencies, and remove arbitrage, corruption and opaqueness.” He goes ahead to encourage us as West-Africans to focus our energies on the stability and economic prosperity of our continent
While calling on bigger economies to actively participate in the promotion and prosperity of the region, he urged global collaboration and inclusiveness to drive capital formation and economic opportunities in Africa.
He recounted the efforts made in his past 10 months as Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government and how he has used Nigeria’s influence to discourage unconstitutional changes in government and ease sanctions for improved trade and economic prosperity in the region.
The high-profile forum in Riyadh had over 1,000 leaders from business, government, and academia from more than 90 countries in attendance. The forum is expected to address pressing global challenges across three core themes: revitalising global collaboration, fostering inclusive growth, and catalysing action on energy for development.
