Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, clarified on Friday that President Bola Tinubu did not officially remove the fuel subsidy, even though he publicly announced its end....Please Read Full Article>>
According to Dogara, the subsidy was already nonexistent in the federal budget before Tinubu’ s statement, meaning there was no allocation for it to be removed. Speaking on Channels TV, Dogara emphasized that the lack of budgetary provision for fuel subsidy was a crucial detail that people might have overlooked.
He explained that Tinubu couldn’ t have suspended something that had not been accounted for in the budget in the first place. ” Anybody who told you Tinubu suspended it was just joking because how did he suspend payment that was not budgeted for in the first instance? ” Dogara said. The former Speaker further explained that the 2023 budget, which governs the nation’ s expenditures, did not allocate funds for the continuation of the fuel subsidy.
This effectively meant that the subsidy had already been phased out before Tinubu’ s administration took office.
” There was no provision for subsidy in that budget, and I am not aware of any amendment that took place to accommodate the payment of subsidy, ” Dogara stated.
He reiterated that the Nigerian budget is backed by the Constitution, and without a clear provision in the budget, the government could not legally pay for the fuel subsidy.
Despite the financial implications of removing the subsidy and the resulting hardships faced by Nigerians, Dogara expressed his belief that ending the fuel subsidy was ultimately a good move for the country.
He acknowledged the challenges but insisted that the subsidy removal could lead to long- term benefits for Nigeria’ s economy.
In May 2023, Tinubu made a bold declaration during his inauguration that the fuel subsidy would be removed.
The decision led to a sharp rise in fuel prices, sparking widespread debates and protests across the country.
However, Dogara’ s clarification suggests that the subsidy had already been effectively removed through the budgeting process, and Tinubu’ s announcement merely formalized what was already in place.
Dogara’ s comments shed light on the complexities surrounding the fuel subsidy debate, showing that the issue extends beyond just the president’ s announcement and touches on deeper fiscal policies and governance strategies.
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