Subsidy Removal: Babachir Lawal Criticizes Tinubu’s Hasty Decision

Babachir Lawal, the former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy on the day of his inauguration.

According to Lawal, the president’s hasty decision has led to the current hardship being experienced by Nigerians.

Speaking in a chat with TheCable, Lawal said that the removal of the fuel subsidy was driven by a sense of arrogance and insensitivity on the part of President Tinubu.

He argued that the removal of the subsidy is a monumental decision which may affect the lives of over 200 million Nigerians, either positively or negatively.

Lawal suggested that the president ought to have consulted widely and held a series of meetings with his cabinet members and other relevant stakeholders before announcing the removal of the subsidy.

He pointed out that taking such a spur-of-the-moment decision on an important issue is very insensitive and probably, the president was ignorant of the challenges he was going to face.

The former SGF cited examples from the past, such as when (Sani) Abacha removed the subsidy and created the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) to channel the additional income into social development and when (Olusegun) Obasanjo removed the subsidy and created SURE-P to renovate roads and carry out social services.

Lawal believes that President Tinubu is only reaping the benefits of his hasty decision and that the Nigerian people are also reaping the benefits of putting in power somebody that works in a cavalier manner.

As the country continues to grapple with the consequences of the subsidy removal, it is essential for the government to consider the opinions of experts like Babachir Lawal and learn from past experiences to ensure the best possible outcomes for the Nigerian people.