In his inaugural Democracy Day speech, Tinubu made this claim while praising Chief MKO Abiola, the victor of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
On Monday, President Bola Tinubu acknowledged that the government’s decision to stop paying fuel subsidies will “impose an additional hardship on the masses of our people,” but said that the only way forward was for Nigerians to make sacrifices for the nation’s survival.
In his inaugural Democracy Day speech, Tinubu made this claim while praising Chief MKO Abiola, the victor of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
He called the late businessman, whose election had been thrown out by the late Gen. Sani Abacha, and who passed away in mysterious circumstances, the emblem of democracy.
I understand your pain, he said. We must make this choice to prevent our nation from imploding and free our resources from the control of a few unpatriotic individuals. This is why, in my inauguration speech on May 29, I put into practice the choice made by my outgoing President to remove the fuel subsidy albatross and release for widespread use the resources that a few wealthy individuals had previously syphoned off.
“I acknowledge that the choice will place an additional strain on the majority of our people. I’ve kindly asked you, my fellow citizens, to make a little more of a sacrifice for the future of our nation. I pledge that your sacrifice won’t be in vain as a result of your faith and trust in us. The government that I run will pay you back by making significant investments in public utilities that will raise people’s quality of life, such as infrastructure for transport, schools, regular power supplies, and healthcare.
The President said that the gasoline subsidy could no longer be justified by its rising costs in the context of depleting resources in his inauguration address on May 29. So, it had to be removed.
Fuel prices statewide jumped from N195 to N537 within hours of Tinubu’s statement, combined with an ancillary price rise.
