‘Things would have been worse’ – FG defends petrol subsidy removal

The federal government says the removal of petrol subsidy was in the best interest of the country as it would have been difficult to carry out meaningful development.

Mohammed Malagi, minister of information and national orientation, who spoke on Thursday during a programme on Channels Television, defended the decision of President Bola Tinubu.

The removal of petrol subsidy was implemented after the current administration assumed office on May 29, 2023.

Following the decision, the cost of living and inflation soared in the aftermath of the move as the price of petrol moved from N190 to over N600 per litre.

In his argument, the minister of information on Thursday said the economy would have been worse if petrol subsidy had not been removed.

“You are premising your argument on the fact this problem just started yesterday. The foundation of our economy had taken a beating a long time ago. The substructure of our national economy has been one that cannot hold a meaningful substructure on it,” Malagi said.

“So, it is important that Nigerians recognise that the President and his team would have to go back to reset that and that is why from day one, he said, ‘Look, subsidy issue has to go’. He had to expect that there would be this pain, of course. He anticipated that Nigerians would encounter some difficulties. But it would be worse if that subsidy did not go. It would have been difficult to carry out any meaningful development. We needed to free up resources.”

He further said the impact of the subsidy was not felt by the masses as some select persons were benefiting from it.

According to Malagi, security agencies are working to arrest the culprits.

“Of course, everybody is being investigated. Security agencies are doing their jobs in that direction,” he said.

The minister, while admitting that the government is aware of the hardships Nigerians are facing, reassured that the country’s leadership is working tirelessly to reverse the trend.

According to Malagi, Tinubu’s government had in the wake of the subsidy removal introduced some measures to curtail the impact of the move.

He listed some of them to include the wage awards to Federal Government workers and plans to roll out compressed natural gas (CNG) buses across the country.

Malagi, however, said the economic team is working on something and even though the economy hasn’t gotten to Eldorado yet, it is important that a solid foundation was laid for Nigeria to achieve the desired prosperity.