APC Chieftain: Tinubu Only Announced Subsidy Removal, Didn’t Personally End It

A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Biodun Ajiboye, has stated that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not personally remove the fuel subsidy, but rather announced a decision that had already become inevitable.

Ajiboye made this statement on Monday during an interview on Channels Television’s current affairs program Politics Today.

According to the APC stalwart, by the time President Tinubu took office in May 2023, the fuel subsidy system was no longer sustainable, leaving the new administration with little option but to discontinue it. He argued that the economic conditions at the time made subsidy removal a necessity, not a choice.

“As of May 2023, whether anyone liked it or not, there was no realistic possibility of sustaining fuel subsidy,” Ajiboye said.

He explained that Tinubu’s role was to formally declare what the existing situation had already determined. “Tinubu did not remove the subsidy; he only announced its removal. People keep asking why he would announce subsidy removal without preparation, but the real question is how it could have been continued at all when he came into power,” he added.

Ajiboye further defended the Tinubu administration’s economic policies, maintaining that the government is working to reverse long-term negative economic trends. He claimed recent reforms have produced positive outcomes in areas such as employment, with unemployment reportedly falling from around 33 percent to about 4 percent due to growth in non-oil sectors.

The APC chieftain appealed for patience from Nigerians, emphasizing that the ongoing reforms are intended to stabilize the economy and provide long-term benefits.