- Safiu Kehinde
The 2023 Labour Party’s Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has admitted to the need for fuel subsidy removal as declared by President Bola Tinubu.
Recall that the President had during his inauguration announced the end of the fuel subsidy regime.
The declaration had plunged the country into economic hardship as inflation and hike in fuel price hitting Nigerians.
Tinubu would however implement remedial economic reforms in an effort to stabilize the country’s economy.
Having previously come to terms with Tinubu’s removal of the fuel subsidy, Obi again agreed with the subsidy removal.
The former Anambra state governor, in an exclusive interview with Arise TV’s presenter, Oseni Rufai, disclosed that he would have also removed the fuel subsidy if election.
Obi however faulted the manner at which the subsidy removal was implemented.
He maintained that the decision should have passed through steps and not by Tinubu’s outright removal which he claimed was done haphazardly.
“I would have removed the fuel subsidy. If you go to my manifesto, it’s there. Steps I would have taken to do it in an organized manner.
“There’s no wrong in removal of subsidy. What is wrong is the haphazard way in which it was announced and implemented.” Obi said.
While acknowledging the corrupt practices linked to the subsidy regime, the Labour Party’s Presidential candidate questioned what the money derived for the removal was used for as he decried dearth in the education and health sector.
“Everybody knows that the subsidy regime was a fusion of criminality with a lot of corruption.
“We were told you were doing it because we don’t want to continue to borrow to continue the subsidy and the removal of it will be able to have available funds to be invested in critical areas of development. But where is it invested on?” He said.