Obasanjo condemns Tinubu’s ‘hasty’ fuel subsidy removal, warns of looming crisis

Maureen Aguta

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has condemned the manner in which President Bola Tinubu’s administration removed the fuel subsidy, warning of the increased hardship it will cause for ordinary Nigerians.

He gave the warning in an interview with the Financial Times.

Obasanjo said that the government should have prioritized mitigating the hardship caused by the subsidy removal, rather than hastily implementing the policy.

“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,” he stressed.

The former President stressed the need for investor confidence in Nigeria, advocating for a shift from a transactional economy to a transformational one. “You have to go from transactional economy to transformational economy,” he said.

Obasanjo also expressed deep concern over the growing restiveness among Nigerian youths, triggered by widespread unemployment.

“Our youth are restive. And they are restive because they have no skill. They have no empowerment. They have no employment. We are all sitting on a keg of gunpowder. And my prayer is that we will do the right thing before it’s too late,” he warned.

Obasanjo also said that sinister forces are working against the progress of the Dangote Refinery. He alleged that powerful cabals in the oil and gas sector are determined to frustrate the project because it threatens their lucrative business of importing refined petrol.

“Aliko’s investment in a refinery, if it goes well, should encourage both Nigerians and non-Nigerians to invest in Nigeria.

“If those who are selling or supplying refined products for Nigeria feel that they will lose the lucrative opportunity, they will also make every effort to get him frustrated,” Obasanjo stated.