News:
Former House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, has stated that President Bola Tinubu did not initiate the removal of the subsidy on petroleum products, despite making the announcement that “subsidy is gone.” In an interview on Channels TV on Friday, Dogara explained that before Tinubu’s election, there was no budget provision for subsidy payments approved by the National Assembly.
Dogara emphasized that while Nigerians are feeling the impact of subsidy removal, it was ultimately a necessary decision for the country’s progress. He criticized the tendency to dwell on problems without discussing solutions, asserting that meaningful change often requires sacrifices.
“The problem with this country is that people always want to talk about her problems and want to leave Nigeria because of it, as if these problems are not present in other places. But nobody is talking about solutions, even among the elites,” he said.
On the subject of subsidy removal, Dogara clarified, “There was no provision for it, and anybody who told you he (Tinubu) suspended it was just joking because how did he suspend payment that was not budgeted for in the first instance?” He stressed that the subsidy had effectively been removed prior to Tinubu’s election, as it was not included in the national budget.
President Tinubu announced the removal of the subsidy during his inauguration on May 29, 2023, stating, “Subsidy is gone.” He reiterated that there was no budget provision for subsidy payments from June 2023 onward, making the removal effective immediately.
