- He stated that it was an aberration for Tinubu to remove subsidy on petrol when he was yet to form a cabinet
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Engr Babachir Lawal, says the raft of hurriedly and poorly thought-out policies implemented by President Bola Tinubu have plunged Nigeria into economic ruins.
He stated that Nigeria collapsed after the swearing of President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023.
Lawal said the abrupt and shocking announcement of fuel subsidy removal by Tinubu on the day of inauguration is having a devastating ripple effect on the economy which Nigerians are now grappling with.
Speaking during a chat on Trust TV’s Daily Politics on Saturday, he stated that it was an aberration for Tinubu to remove subsidy on petrol when he was yet to form a cabinet.
According to Lawal, the announcement of fuel subsidy removal led to a cost push inflation due to the hike in transportation which is basically the engine of business for both the rich and common man in Nigeria.
Describing the action taken on May 29, Lawal said the non-existence of the cabinet and the Federal Executive Council to address the consequences of such a harsh policy was the undoing of Tinubu, leading to a total collapse of the country.
“I can only repeat what I said before. I’ve spoken on this before. First of all, I did say one time you came into government on the day you were inaugurated,” he said.
“After swearing in you embark on the first major policies that are very impactful on the lives of the society. It is like a cowboy, or macho man removing subsidy. At that time, he didn’t have a minister of planning, that should plan the outcome, the consequences to take care.
“You don’t have a minister of finance who will calculate the impact of this society. You did not even have the federal executive council that will approve that, you have nothing. As at that time, nobody to advise, nobody to break out ‘what ifs’”.
Speaking further, he said, “So immediately after that inauguration, Nigeria collapsed. It is like a balloon. Nigeria fell down. It deflated completely. Immediately transportation (fare) tripled,” he noted.
“That week! I used to buy animal feed for my cows from Zaria, I used to pay N270,000 per truck. Immediately that week, I couldn’t buy anymore, because transportation alone was going to cost me N1 million,” he explained from his personal experience as a farmer.
“I couldn’t afford it because the cost of fuel just jumped up. Everything. Last week I bought some equipment for my farm. I wanted to transport it from Kano, they were asking me to pay N3 million to transport three tractors and only to be put in a trailer. One trailer carrying three tractors!. Everything has gone up. So that policy alone crashed everything.”
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