Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that the fuel subsidy, which was removed in June 2023 by President Bola Tinubu’s government, has effectively returned because of inflation.
Obasanjo shared his views during an interview with the Financial Times, where he criticized the way the current administration handled the subsidy removal.
He argued that the government should have made better preparations before taking such a big step.
“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done. Not just wake up one morning and say you removed the subsidy.
“Because of inflation, the subsidy that we have removed is not gone. It has come back,” Obasanjo said.
He also emphasized the need for building investor confidence in Nigeria and urged a shift from a transactional to a transformational economy.
His comments come at a time when Nigerians are protesting against the rising cost of living. These protests, which began on Thursday, have continued for five days, with many demanding the return of the fuel subsidy.
However, in a speech on Sunday, President Tinubu called on protesters to stop their demonstrations. He acknowledged that removing the fuel subsidy was a painful decision, but said it was necessary to free the nation’s economy from what he described as a financial burden.
Reports indicate that inflation in Nigeria hit record levels in June 2024, with core inflation rising to 34.19 percent and 40.87 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
