In response to the ‘challenge’ he left for Bola Tinubu, the former president Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, broke his silence. He said that had the policy been put into place, Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress, or APC, would have lost the most recent general election.
However, the former president applauded the actions taken thus far by the current administration in implementing the removal of the petrol subsidy and endeavor to equalize the Naira currency rate through a statement issued through his former spokesman, Garba Shehu.
According to Shehu, the statement was made in response to frequent questions from some detractors who questioned why it took Tinubu only a few weeks to end the petrol subsidy but Buhari took years.
He claimed that if the Petroleum Industry Act, which contains the withdrawal of the gasoline subsidy, had been put into effect earlier, the ruling party would have lost the 2023 election.
Shehu asked the wrong question in his statement headlined “Buhari didn’t fail to remove subsidy” when he said: “Why did it take the new Tinubu/Shettima presidency weeks to eliminate the petrol subsidy but Buhari didn’t do it for years.
“The significant subsidy for power. the fictitious subsidy for fertilizer. Christian and Hajj pilgrim subsidies. Recall them?
“The diesel subsidy. the subsidy for aviation fuel. LPFO. Kerosene. We established the policies for cooking gas and the other subsidies we discovered in existence. Recall them?
For those who don’t remember, many of these subsidies were already in place when President Buhari was elected to office in 2015; all of them were eliminated by May 2023, including the annual fertilizer subsidy, which weighed 60–100 billion Naira (that’s trillion Naira in about 10 years, yes you read that right) heavily on the federal budget each year.
“So no, Buhari didn’t get rid of the fuel subsidy, but he did get rid of every other outrageous, budget-busting subsidy along the road that was stifling economic progress.
“So far I have refrained from answering these repeated questions on the removal in Nigeria of subsidies on Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, and that arising from the dual rates of the Naira in the Central Bank and the parallel market: Why did Buhari ‘fail’ to do these?
“First of all, my thinking is that instead of the former President answering this question, it is the party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, that is best suited to speak and failing to do this, we are forced to say what will follow here.
“Secondly, we are mindful of the fact that with a Tinubu/Shettima presidency now in place and for which there is a ‘New Sheriff in Town’, we do not want to distract them from the onerous tasks facing them and the nation.
“Neither is it our wish to take the spotlight away from them in any way.
“In terms of the timings of the decisions to remove fuel subsidy and unify the currency, the Tinubu/Shettima administration has done overwhelmingly well.
“Even more importantly, they have been most dexterous in managing the aftermath of the decisions by successfully avoiding any crisis.
“To this extent, our wish and prayers are that fellow countrymen will continue to support the new leadership in these very laudable decisions and, in particular, for the Labour leadership and civil society to work with them to ensure that the palliative efforts as promised are successfully implemented.
“The decision to remove subsidies, as in our case – and we believe in all situations – was not for the President to take all by himself.
“That’s why it’s important to remind ourselves – and all those who have conveniently forgotten – that Buhari administration had been on this pathway from the very beginning in 2015.
“Removing subsidies for the Naira and PMS was cued and put on hold. Look for example in the Petroleum Industry Act. The important decision was kept for a better time.
“It could not have come at a time when tensions were high in the country and no responsible leader would have added fuel to the fire.
“In the view of many – including those in the security circles – only a new administration with goodwill that fills a warehouse can attempt this, and here now comes in the wit and grit of the Tinubu government.
“Finally, we must be politically honest with ourselves. The Buhari administration in its last days could not have gone the whole way because the APC had an election to win.
“And that would have been the case with any political party that was seeking election for another term with a new principal at its head.
“Poll after polls showed that the party would have been thrown out of office if the decision as envisaged by the new Petroleum Industry Act was made.
“With the election now behind us, a capable leader as we now have in place is best positioned to move forward.
“In the wake of these significant economic and financial decisions, we have nothing but faith that the new administration will lead the country and all of its people towards a stable future.
“There are times when losing is necessary to win,”
