President Bola Tinubu has explained his decision to eliminate the fuel subsidy and abolish multiple foreign exchange rates as a means to foster economic growth and promote national development.
In a broadcast to the nation on Sunday addressing the ongoing protests, Tinubu stated that he made the difficult choice to remove the fuel subsidy and unify the foreign exchange system to curb the greed and profiteering exploited by smugglers and rent-seekers.
He emphasized that this action also halted the excessive subsidies that Nigeria had been extending to neighboring countries at the expense of its own citizens, which had left the economy weakened.
The President noted that the Nigerian economy had languished for decades, suffering from misalignments that hindered its growth.
He said, “Just over a year ago, our beloved Nigeria reached a critical juncture where we could no longer afford to rely on temporary fixes for long-standing issues, jeopardizing both the present and future generations.
“The decisions I made were essential to reverse decades of economic mismanagement that have failed to serve our interests.
“Yes, the responsibility lies with me. However, I assure you that I am completely committed to delivering effective governance to the people—good governance, in fact.”
Tinubu highlighted that in the past 13 months, his government reduced debt servicing from 97 percent of revenue to 68 percent.
He added, “We have also settled legitimate outstanding foreign exchange obligations totaling approximately five billion dollars without negatively impacting our programs.
“This has granted us greater financial freedom to invest in our citizens, enabling us to enhance essential social services like education and healthcare.
“It has also resulted in state and local governments receiving the highest allocations in the history of our country from the Federation Account.”
