By Omoyeni Ojeifo
Fuel subsidy removal prevented Nigeria from sliding into bankruptcy and created the foundation for economic recovery, President Bola Tinubu has said.
In a State House press release on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, obtained by Persecondnews, the President defended one of the most controversial policies of his administration, insisting the decision became necessary to rescue the country from fiscal collapse.
Tinubu spoke at the Presidential Villa in Abuja while hosting governors who visited him to celebrate Eid-el-Kabir and the third anniversary of his government.
“It was challenging at the time, but we survived. We faced litigation and accusations. Instead of bankruptcy, Nigeria has survived. The economy has recovered. It is growing. Agriculture is booming,” he said.
The President said the decision to end the subsidy regime was painful for many Nigerians but became unavoidable because of the country’s worsening financial situation at the time his administration took office.
He noted that reforms introduced over the past three years were beginning to reflect in infrastructure development, agriculture, housing and broader economic indicators.
“The economy has recovered. Macroeconomic indices are doing very well. Construction is ongoing on roads and infrastructure; the ones abandoned have been rehabilitated.
“The housing industry is coming on very well. Agriculture will prosper again. We will achieve food sovereignty if we utilise the land that is in your possession and in your various states effectively,” he added.
Tinubu also credited state governors for helping sustain public trust during the difficult reform period by encouraging Nigerians to remain patient despite economic hardship.
“I’m glad governors are no longer borrowing from the federal government and asking for interventions and not knowing how to survive, how to pay salaries, no more. You kept the spirit, you kept the hope.
“You persuaded our people to be patient and endure these three years of painful reform, during which we put the economy on a reset. Today, the benefits are showing,” Tinubu said.
He urged Nigerians to continue to believe in his administration, saying it would sustain policies aimed at easing hardship, creating jobs, strengthening food security and promoting inclusive economic growth.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, in his remarks, praised Tinubu for confronting longstanding distortions in the oil sector, describing the subsidy removal as a major turning point for Nigeria.
“You became President at a time the country needed more than routine leadership. It required someone willing to confront the structural weaknesses inherited over the years,” he said.
“You chose not to postpone the surgery. You chose not to massage the wound. You chose to confront the contradictions that have held this country hostage for 50 years,” Shettima added.
Governors from Lagos, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi, Taraba, Niger, Ekiti, Delta, Ondo, Edo, Adamawa, Benue, Enugu, Ogun and Kogi states attended the meeting, alongside the deputy governors of Borno and Kano states.
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