President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said the fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange liberation policies have put Nigeria at the forefront of economic growth.
In a statement by Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, he said Tinubu highlighted this during a high-level panel session at the World Economic Forum, WEF, Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday.
Ngelale quoted the president as saying that he had to take tough but essential decisions like removing fuel subsidy – with its attendant perils – to reposition Nigeria’s economy.
“Concerning the question of subsidy removal, there is no doubt that it was a necessary action for my country not to go bankrupt and to reset the economy and the pathway to growth. It was going to be difficult, but the hallmark of leadership is making difficult decisions when they need to be made.
“That was necessary for the country. Yes, there have been drawbacks. Yes, there was an expectation that more people would feel the difficulty. But, of course, our people’s interest was the government’s primary focus.
“Along the line, there was an arrangement to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal on the country’s vulnerable population. We shared the pain across the board. We cannot but include those who are very vulnerable.
“Luckily, we have a very vibrant youth population interested in innovation and highly ready to leverage technology and good education, and they remain committed to growth.
“We managed that and partitioned the economic drawback and the fallout of the subsidy removal equally, engendering transparency, accountability, and fiscal discipline for the country. And that is most important, focusing on what direction we should head in. I will pursue that rigorously,” he said.
Tinubu explained that the government under his leadership manages the nation’s currency and effectively removes corruption-laden arbitrage.
“Currency management was necessary to remove the artificial value element in our currency. Hence, our local currency finds its level and competes with the rest of the world’s currencies as we remove corrupt arbitrage and opaqueness.
“That we did. At the same time, that is a two-engine problem that is a very turbulent situation for the government.
“But we can manage that turbulence because we prepared for this with inclusivity in governance and rapid communication with the public,” the president said.
Recall that in June last year, Tinubu’s administration removed subsidies on petrol and liberalized the FX market.
The development had led to soaring inflation in Nigeria, which stood at 33.20 per cent in March, and currency fluctuation.
