President Bola Tinubu has announced the removal of the fuel subsidy and the abolition of multiple foreign exchange rates to foster economic growth and national development.
In a national broadcast addressing the ongoing nationwide protests, Tinubu explained that the difficult decision to eliminate the fuel subsidy and multiple foreign exchange systems was taken to curb the exploitation by smugglers and rent-seekers.
He further stated that this measure has halted the inappropriate subsidies that were benefiting neighboring countries at the expense of Nigeria’s economy, which had been left in a weakened state.
The President emphasized that for decades, the Nigerian economy has been sluggish due to various misalignments that have impeded its progress.
He said, “Just over a year ago, our dear country, Nigeria, reached a point where we couldn’t afford to continue using temporary solutions to solve long-term problems for the sake of now and our unborn generations.
“These decisions I made were necessary if we must reverse the decades of economic mismanagement that didn’t serve us well.
“Yes, I agree, the buck stops with me. But I can assure you that I am fully focused on delivering governance to the people – good governance, for that matter.”
Tinubu said his government had, in the last 13 months, reduced revenue spent on debt servicing to 68 per cent from 97 per cent previously.
He added, “We have also cleared legitimate outstanding foreign exchange obligations of about five billion dollars without any adverse impact on our programmes.
“This has given us more financial freedom and room to spend more money on you, our citizens, to fund essential social services like education and healthcare.
“It has also led to our state and local governments receiving the highest allocations ever in our country’s history from the Federation Account.”
