Protesters in support of the fuel subsidy removal on Thursday, stormed the entrance of the National Assembly to declare support for President Bola Tinubu’s subsidy removal.
According to the protesters, the president made the right decision by removing the ‘canker worm’ that has eaten deep into the economy.
Recall that during Tinubu’s inaugural speech on May 29, announced that there would no longer be a petroleum subsidy as the current 2023 budget does not contain it.
However, on Tuesday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited and other oil marketers raised the price of petrol from about N537/litre to between N617 and N630/litre.
Meanwhile, this development has raised concerns across the country, as Nigerians laments over cost of living.
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In response to the fuel hike, the convener of Stand Up Nigeria, Sunday Attah, stated that the Tinubu-led administration has done the right thing and should be supported to deliver on the dividends of democracy.
He said, “The announcement on the 29th May 2023, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that the subsidy on fuel has been removed has come with mixed feelings.
“While some have hailed it as apt and timely others have expressed reservation that it may cause further hardship on the citizenry.
“You will recall that the President anchored the policy on the fact that there was no provision for subsidy payment in the 2023 budget hence cannot be sustained.”
Attah added, “Apart from that, the country was bleeding seriously through many leakages occasioned by corruption in high places chiefly among which are the claims on subsidy payments to many firms.
“After observing the initial reaction to the measure and the attendant panic buying and other impacts on the socio-economic life of Nigerians, we wish to state that the President has done the right thing by removing the subsidy as the advantages of doing so outweigh the disadvantages.
“We have observed that the initial hiccups of long queues at the fuel stations have disappeared while access to petroleum products has become easier and guaranteed as people can now drive into filling stations and refill their tanks without wasting unnecessary man hours on queues.”
