President Bola Tinubu on Friday said the removal of fuel subsidy in the first minutes of his presidency saved Nigeria from imminent bankruptcy and that the difficult reform period was now yielding visible dividends for states and citizens alike.
“It was challenging at the time, but we survived. We faced litigation and accusations. We survived them. Instead of bankruptcy, Nigeria has survived. The economy has recovered. It is growing. Agriculture is booming,” the President said when he received state governors who gathered at his Ikoyi residence in Lagos to celebrate both the Sallah festival and the third anniversary of his administration.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed details of the meeting in a statement he signed on Friday titled, ‘Fuel Subsidy Removal Saved Nigeria From Bankruptcy, Says President Tinubu.’
In attendance were the governors of Lagos, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi, Taraba, Niger, Ekiti, Delta, Ondo, Edo, Adamawa, Benue, Enugu, Ogun and Kogi states, as well as the deputy governors of Borno and Kano states.
Tinubu argued that the subsidy regime had for years consumed enormous resources that benefited only a small fraction of Nigerians while depriving critical sectors of needed investments.
