The presidency has explained that subsidy
removal is something that should have
been done before now but past
administrations didn’t have the courage to
implement it.
A statement by Garba Shehu , the senior
special assistant to the president on media
and publicity on Sunday, said Nigerians will
remember President Muhammadu Buhari
as the leader who took bold decisions in
the best interest of the country.
Reach.ng recalls the recent fuel
price increase on September 2, following
the removal of subsidy on petrol in Nigeria
has continued to generate mixed but
heated reactions from stakeholders.
However, Shehu noted in his statement on
Sunday that Buhari only did what previous
administrations didn’t have the courage to
do.
He also pleaded for the understanding of
Nigerians, opposition parties, the labour
movement and civil society groups as he
noted that such steps were necessary in
the reform to reposition Nigeria
economically.
“Subsidy removal in these sectors had long
been foreseen by successive
administrations as game changers in search
of solutions to move forward with the
nation’s development. These are reforms
that are necessary and overdue. Blueprint
upon blueprint, timeline upon timeline had
come and gone but the courage to take
bold decisions was not there.”
In carrying out the reforms, the president
needs the support and understanding of all
citizens-inclusive of the opposition parties,
the labour movement and civil society
groups,” the presidential aide said.
“In these challenging times, the president is
pushing development goals, not politics and
history will judge him in favourable terms
rather than his critics in the new media and
the opposition,” Shehu noted in his
statement.
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