For the umpteenth time, President Bola Tinubu has defended his administration’s decision to remove fuel subsidy, insisting that it was a “necessary” move to secure the country’s future.
The president had, during his inauguration ceremony in May 2023, declared an end to the subsidy regime, an action that resulted in an instant hike in the cost of petrol and cost of living.
Also, the resultant hardship on the generality of the Nigerian people led to pockets of protests and condemnation of the move by critics and a large percentage of the people.
However, President Tinubu, during his visit to Enugu State on Saturday, defended the bold action and said it was needed for a better Nigeria.
The president said, “You are all a member of one big, huge family called Nigeria but living in different rooms in the same house. This house, we must build it. Build it to satisfy our immediate need which is not going to be enough yet but for tomorrow too.
”That is why the removal of the first subsidy was necessary,” Tinubu said at a stakeholders meeting held at the Government House in Enugu on Saturday.
“You cannot spend the future of generations yet unborn in advance. Don’t bankrupt the nation before they are born. I know people will fight, grumble, abuse me, and everything but I asked for the job. I know what it takes. I believe in myself and I believe I can gather a very good team and build a nation.”
President Bola Tinubu touched down at the Enugu airport on a working visit to commission various projects by the state government. He was received by Governor Peter Mbah.
Tinubu called on Nigerians to show love for the country and shun negative comments about it.
“It is our country. We have to work really hard for it; to build a nation that we can be proud of. Change the narrative; negative comment about Nigeria? I’m not taking that! I’m very proud of Nigeria. You all should be proud of Nigeria,” he told the gathering which included Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, government functionaries, and other dignitaries present at the event.
Some of the projects the president commissioned during the visit to the Coal State are the multi-auditorium and multi-functional Enugu International Conference Centre; state-of-the-art command and control Centre/150 patrol vehicles fitted with AI-embedded surveillance cameras at the Government House.
