{"id":105642,"date":"2023-06-26T20:27:01","date_gmt":"2023-06-26T19:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=105642"},"modified":"2023-06-26T20:27:01","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T19:27:01","slug":"buhari-if-i-had-removed-fuel-subsidy-before-election-tinubu-would-have-lost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/buhari-if-i-had-removed-fuel-subsidy-before-election-tinubu-would-have-lost\/","title":{"rendered":"Buhari: If I had removed fuel subsidy before election, Tinubu would have lost"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Former President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, spoke on fuel subsidy payment removal by his successor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.<\/div>\n
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\nBuhari said it was wrong for some people to ask why he did not remove the subsidy between 2015 and 2023 when he was the Commander-in-Chief while the Tinubu administration removed it immediately.<\/div>\n
\nReacting in a statement by his former Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, Buhari declared that his administration removed \u201cthe massive electricity subsidy, the fraudulent fertilizer subsidy, Hajj\/Christian Pilgrim subsidies, diesel subsidy, aviation fuel subsidy, LPFO Kerosene, cooking gas and the other subsidy policies we found in place.<\/div>\n
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\u201cFor those with short memories, many of those subsides were all in place when president Buhari was elected to office in 2015: all those in place were gone by May 2023\u201d.<\/div>\n
\nHe said petrol subsidy was not removed because the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had an election to win and \u201cpoll after polls showed that the party would have been thrown out of office if the decision as envisaged by the new Petroleum Industry Act was made\u201d.<\/p>\n

Below is the full statement:<\/p>\n

BUHARI DIDN\u2019T FAIL TO REMOVE SUBSIDY.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy did it take the new Tinubu\/\u00a0Shettima\u00a0presidency weeks to remove the petrol subsidy when Buhari didn\u2019t do so for years fails to ask the right question.<\/p>\n

The massive electricity subsidy. The fraudulent fertilizer subsidy. Hajj\/Christian Pilgrim subsidies.\u00a0 Remember them?
\nThe diesel subsidy. The aviation fuel subsidy. LPFO. Kerosene. Cooking gas and the other subsidy policies we found in place, and put them firmly on the ground. Remember them?<\/p>\n

For those with short memories, many of those subsides were all in place when president Buhari was elected to office in 2015: all those in place were gone by May 2023 \u2013 including the annual fertilizer subsidy that weighed 60-100 billion Naira (that\u2019s trillion naira in about 10 years \u2013 yes you read that right) heavy on the federal budget each year.<\/p>\n

So no, Buhari didn\u2019t remove the petrol subsidy \u2013 but in vitally important stages he removed every other budget-busting, egregious, economic-growth-crushing subsidy\u00a0along the way.<\/p>\n

So far I\u00a0have refrained from answering these repeated questions on the removal in Nigeria of subsidies on Premium Motor Spirit, PMS and that arising from the dual rates of the Naira in the Central Bank and the parallel market: Why did Buhari \u201cfail\u201d\u00a0to do these?<\/p>\n

First of all, my thinking is that instead of the former President answering this question, it is the Party, the\u00a0All Progressives Congress,\u00a0APC that is best suited to speak and failing to do this, we are forced to say what will follow here.
\nSecondly, we are mindful of the fact\u00a0that with a Tinubu\/Shettima\u00a0presidency now in place and for which there is a \u201cNew Sheriff in Town.\u201d<\/p>\n

We do not want to distract them\u00a0from\u00a0the onerous tasks facing them and the nation.\u00a0Neither is it our wish to take the spotlight away from them in any way.<\/p>\n

In terms of the timings of the decisions to remove fuel subsidy and unify the currency, the Tinubu\/Shettima<\/p><\/div>\n

administration has done overwhelmingly well. Even more importantly, they have been most dexterous in managing the aftermath of the decisions by\u00a0 successfully avoiding\u00a0any crisis.<\/p>\n

To this extent, our wish and prayers are that fellow countrymen will continue to support the new leadership in these very laudable decisions and, in particular, for\u00a0the Labour leadership and civil society to work with them to ensure that the palliative efforts as promised are successfully implemented.<\/p>\n

The decision\u00a0to\u00a0remove subsidies, as in our case\u00a0\u2013\u00a0and we believe in all situations\u00a0\u2013\u00a0was not for the President to take all by himself. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to remind ourselves \u2013 and all those who have conveniently forgotten \u2013 that\u00a0Buhari administration had been on this pathway from the very beginning in 2015.<\/p><\/div>\n

\nRemoving subsidies for the Naira and PMS was cued and put on hold. Look\u00a0for example in the Petroleum Industry Act. The important decision was kept\u00a0for\u00a0a better time.<\/p>\n

It could not have come at a time when tensions were high in the country and no responsible leader would have added fuel to the fire.<\/p>\n

In the view of many-including those in the security circles- only a new administration with a goodwill that fills a warehouse can attempt this,\u00a0and\u00a0here now comes in the wit and grit of the Tinubu government.<\/p>\n

Finally, we must be politically honest with ourselves. The Buhari administration in its last days could not have gone the whole way because the APC had an election to win.\u00a0And that would have been the case with any political party that was seeking election for another term with a new principal at its head.<\/p>\n

Poll after polls showed that the party would have been thrown out of office if the decision as envisaged by the new Petroleum Industry Act was made.<\/p>\n

With the election now behind us, a capable leader as we now have in place is best positioned to move forward. We have nothing but confidence that the new administration will carry the nation and all its constituents into a stable future in the aftermath of these major economic and financial decisions.
\nAs they say, there are times when you\u00a0have to\u00a0lose in order to win\u201d.<\/p>\n

Garba Shehu.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, spoke on fuel subsidy payment removal by his successor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. 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