- Tinubu acknowledges fuel subsidy removal impact on cost of living, wishes for alternatives, but none available.
- Interventions include releasing grains, providing support to farmers to ensure food affordability, and addressing fiscal policies through Executive Orders.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has stated that he is aware that the removal of fuel subsidies has increased the cost of living in Nigeria.
The president stated that he wished there were other options for turning around the country’s economy without eliminating fuel subsidies, but there were none.
Tinubu, who made these remarks during a nationwide broadcast on Monday, said he did not intend to hurt the masses and that steps were being taken to alleviate their suffering.
Our economy is going through a tough patch and you are being hurt by it. The cost of fuel has gone up. Food and other prices have followed it.Households and businesses struggle. Things seem anxious and uncertain.I understand the hardship you face. I wish there were other ways. But there is not. If there were, I would have taken that route as I came here to help not hurt the people and nation that I love.
What I can offer in the immediate is to reduce the burden our current economic situation has imposed on all of us, most especially on businesses, the working class and the most vulnerable among us.Already, the Federal Government is working closely with states and local governments to implement interventions that will cushion the pains of our people across socio-economic brackets.
The President stated that he signed four Executive Orders earlier this month to address unfriendly fiscal policies and multiple taxes that stifle the business environment.
He stated that the Executive Orders suspending some taxes would provide the buffers and headroom needed for businesses in the manufacturing sector to thrive and expand.
To further ensure that prices of food items remain affordable, we have had a multi-stakeholder engagement with various farmers’ associations and operators within the agricultural value chain.In the short and immediate terms, we will ensure staple foods are available and affordable. To this end, I have ordered the release of 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains from strategic reserves to households across the 36 states and FCT to moderate prices. We are also providing 225,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer, seedlings and other inputs to farmers who are committed to our food security agenda.Our plan to support cultivation of 500,000 hectares of farmland and all-year-round farming practice remains on course, the President added.