Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) national leader and
\nformer governor of Lagos State, has accused the Jonathan presidency of
\nbetraying its social contract with the people by suddenly removing fuel
\nsubsidy.<\/p>\n
He, however, provided a window out of the crisis: if subsidy must be
\nremoved at all, it must never be at one fell swoop. Rather it must be on
\ncalibrated phrases, on which the promised gains are measured and confirmed
\nbefore moving to the next phase of removal.<\/p>\n
\u201cGovernment must modify the sudden and complete removal of the subsidy.
\nEither we restore the subsidy or use the funds for other social purposes,\u201d
\nAsiwaju Tinubu counselled in a special release he captioned, \u2018Removal of
\noil subsidy \u2013 President Jonathan breaks social contract with the people\u2019
\nand which he personally signed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we are to use the funds for other programmes, these programmes shall
\nbe placed on parallel track with the subsidy. As more of these programmes
\nare ready to go on line, then the subsidy can be lifted in phases\u201d he
\ncontinued. \u201cIn this way, the public is assured government will not lower
\nits total expenditure on their behalf, thus maintaining the spirit central
\nto the social contract.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the former governor cautioned the federal government against economic
\npolicies that tend to balance the books at the detriment of the people\u2019s
\nwelfare.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs there is progressive politics, there is progressive economics. As
\nthere is elitist politics, there is elitist economics,\u201d Asiwaju Tinubu
\nexplained. \u201cIt all depends on what and who in society government would
\nrather favour. The Jonathan tax,\u201d he declared, \u201crepresents a new standard
\nin elitism.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the ACN national leader cautioned the president against being captive
\nto economic orthodoxy and its local purveyors, who always look at the
\nNigerian economy as nothing until when tied to the apron strings of the
\nconservative orthodoxy.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he is slave to wrong-headed economics,\u201d Asiwaju Tinubu said of
\nPresident Goodluck Jonathan, \u201cthe people will become enslaved to greater
\nmisery. This crisis will bear his name and will be his legacy. The people
\nnow pay a steep tax for voting him into office. The removal of the subsidy
\nis the \u2018Jonathan tax\u2019,\u201d he insisted. \u201cThe situation shows that ideas count
\nmore than personalities. People may occupy office but how that person
\nperforms depends on the ideas that occupy his mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Insisting that the subsidy removal was ill-timed, he said there must be
\nsome conditions precedent before such a step could be taken.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst government needs to clean up and throw away the salad of corruption
\nin the NNPC [Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation]. Then, proceed to
\nlay the foundation for a mass transit system in the railways and road
\nnetwork with long term bonds and,\u201d he added, \u201cfully develop the energy
\nsector towards revitalising Nigeria\u2019s economy and easing the burden any
\nsubsidy removal may have on the people.\u201d<\/p>\n
The former governor however counselled protesters to go about the protests
\nin a peaceful manner, and to eschew all forms of violence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) national leader and former governor of Lagos State, has accused the Jonathan presidency of betraying its social contract with the people by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n