By Wilson Adekumola
An elder statesman and South-South leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has backed President Bola Tinubu on fuel subsidy removal urging him to prioritise the provision of palliatives to cushion its effect.
The elder stateman made this disclosure while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Thursday.
President Tinubu had during his inaugural speech on May 29, announced the removal of fuel subsidy which pushed the pump price of fuel from N194 to over N500 with variations in states.
Clark, however, hailed the president on the removal of subsidy, noting that the government had done the right thing.
“They have done the right thing. After all, all the candidates before the 2023 general election had advocated and promised to remove fuel subsidies.
“Everybody regarded it as a scam; it does not exist. Where are these faceless people we are paying the oil subsidy to, how has it benefited the ordinary man in Nigeria?
“Remember in January 2012, the Jonathan-led administration attempted to remove it, but the very people and leaders who opposed it at that time have now turned round to say yes it must go,” said Clark.
He stressed further that removing the fuel subsidy was a very bold step taken by President Tinubu.
“Some people believe that since Tinubu was talking about subsidy removal during his campaign and also in his manifesto, he should have strategize how to provide the palliative to cushion the effect,” he said.
While explaining that government workers understood that fuel subsidy had never been in their favour, Clark stated that spending trillions of naira on fuel subsidy is unacceptable just as he said if the money is spent on the country’s transportation, education and health sectors, life will be much better: “we will have a better Nigeria.
“Now that a committee has been set up, where all parties will be involved, they should work it out.”
