A former member of the House of Representatives Usman Bugaje has berated the Bola Tinubu’s government for pronouncing the fuel subsidy without plans to cushion the impacts of the move.
Tinubu’s declaration of an end to the fuel subsidy era during his inauguration and the floating of the naira – the country’s currency – triggered a hike in the cost of living and tripled the price of the commodity.
But Bugaje says Tinubu’s government had little preparation before taking such a step.
“We had expected that when the new government took over, we were expecting that he would surround himself with expertise. We were expecting that for him to have announced the removal of the fuel subsidy, he must have had a plan – something that would address the consequences of that,” the political activist said on Monday.
“You don’t make a policy without looking at the consequences and preparing to cushion the effect of that. But apparently, he did that without preparation.”
Since the announcement, the government has reeled out plans – including palliatives – and has had several meetings with labour unions on measures to cushion the impacts of the subsidy removal.
But Bugaje has faulted government officials, especially at the federal level, for being out of touch with the plight of Nigerians.
He claimed they are bereft of ideas to address the problems emanating from the removal of subsidy and other challenges facing Nigeria.
“I can see a lot of sycophancy around him (Tinubu). People are not engaging him. They are not telling him the truth and he seems to be very comfortable with the kind of people he has around him who don’t seem to have any ideas in their heads,” he said.
“They don’t seem to have any solutions to the problems that we have and they are always trying to find excuses.”
“If you want to know what is happening, talk to the pastors and imams,” Bugaje said.
Peoplesmind
