Abrupt Fuel Subsidy Removal Worsened Nigeria’s Economy – Nwibubasa

Spokesman of the defunct Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council in Rivers State, Dr Leloonu Nwibubasa, has declared that abrupt removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu worsened the economy of the country.

Nwibubasa who disclosed this yesterday while speaking with LEADERSHIP Sunday in Port Harcourt, faulted Tinubu’s claims that he has turned around the economy of the country.

He said, “President Bola Tinubu gave us high hopes and raised our expectations of his government when from the first day of his inauguration, he told Nigerians that he was hitting the ground running and abruptly removed the fuel subsidy.

“Of course, the thinking was that Tinubu was going to be a magician, who eventually will turn our economy around, probably having seen a solution to the fragmented economy of Nigeria.

“But that wasn’t the case. Abrupt removal of fuel subsidy worsened the economic situation of Nigeria. Our exchange rate flipped from N460 to a dollar to as high as N900 to a dollar and the increase never stopped until we hit almost N2,000 to a dollar. And these economic woes are still here with us.

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“Unfortunately, in his broadcast, the president has alluded that he has turned Nigeria’s economy around. But what are the actual indices? The actual indices are definitely with the people; how better have we fared? As at today, more Nigerians are living below the poverty line as stated by the IMF.

“So, poverty has grown in the land, fuel prices have remained all-time high, the exchange rate has remained all-time high and then, you talk about growth of GDP as professed by the president. Actually, growth must manifest in the living standard of the people.”

Nwibubasa stated that under the Tinubu-led administration, Nigerians are facing hunger, insurgency, crime and insecurity, pointing out that there had not been any institutional changes within the security agencies, especially the Nigerian Police and the Nigerian Army.

He said, “More Nigerians are hungry today than ever. Moving beyond, security has not in any way improved, more Nigerians are faced with violent crimes, insurgency; the North-East is still an epicentre of Boko Haram and other new terrorist groups.

“The herders/farmers’ clashes in the Middle Belt, especially Benue and Plateau states, have taken so many lives. We have not any much institutional changes, not in the Police, not in the Army. So, it is difficult to come out at any time to see what you can actually say that this government has done.”