In a bold move during his inaugural address at Eagle Square, Abuja, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared, “Subsidy is gone,” a statement that triggered an immediate surge in fuel prices from ₦198 per litre to ₦540.
During his speech, Tinubu emphasized that the fuel subsidy had become a significant impediment to Nigeria’s progress, arguing that it was fueling corruption and inefficiency within the economy.
Tinubu had told some monarchs who visited him at Aso Rock a month after subsidy removal, “You have paid attention to the subsidy removal. Why should we in good heart and sense, feed smugglers and be Father Christmas to neighbouring countries, even though they say not every day is Christmas? The elephant that was going to bring Nigeria to its knees is the subsidy.
“A country that cannot pay salaries and we say we have potential to encourage ourselves. I think we did the right thing.”
Interestingly, Tinubu, as the national leader of the opposition Action Congress…