Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election, has said more Nigerians have been thrown into poverty and become poorer since the fuel subsidy was removed by President Bola Tinubu.
Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, said the situation of Nigerians has become critical.
He told Vanguard “Ask the average Nigerian how he is faring today.
The truth is that we have many more Nigerians thrown into poverty; millions of Nigerians don’t know where their next meal will come from. Nobody is sure what the price of a cup of rice, garri, or loaf of bread will be tomorrow….
“Ask Nigerians, the masses out there on the streets of Nigeria, and you will get a feel for what they are going through. But I know that the situation is critical.”
Obi, said President Bola Tinubu, has inflicted untold hardship on Nigerians since he assumed office on May 29, 2023.
“He may actually be correct when he claims that his name deserves to be in the Gusiness World Records. Don’t forget that people’s names don’t always make it into the Guinness World Records for altruistic reasons. So, it depends on which angle he is coming from. If the idea is to put his name in the Guinness Book of Records for causing Nigerians the most untold hardship, of course he is spot on, and I will totally agree with him because his reforms are not achieving what they are meant to achieve.”
Obi noted that Nigerians are not benefiting from the removal of fuel subsidy by President Tinubu.
“Yes, I agree that the fuel subsidy has to be removed because it is not sustainable, but there should have been gains from the removal. Right now, they say they are saving billions of naira, but nobody is feeling the positive impact.
“The other subsidy is the exchange rate. They said that when the naira is floated, people will be able to access foreign exchange at the same rate. But today, there is even a wider gap between the official exchange rate and the unofficial rate. The official rate is about N900 to $1, while the unofficial rate hovers between N1,300 and N1,400. So, the gap today is even bigger.
“The implication is that we are doing something that is just not right. It is not enough to claim that you have removed subsidy
“And these are the things that we need to look into because the idea of reforms is something that would have helped Nigeria begin to walk on the right path, in the right direction, and it must be all inclusive. I have always said reforms in governance should be in all sectors simultaneously.
“We should be dealing with the issues of cutting the cost of governance, corruption, and all forms of waste, targeting priority areas- education health, and pulling people out of poverty, simultaneously.
“You cannot do one and leave the others. What you are doing has to be seen by the people. I was a governor, and we dealt with these issues simultaneously and holistically.
“That is the only way to achieve positive results. If you do one and leave the others, you are bound to have problems. These issues should be addressed simultaneously and transparently. People have to see what you are doing.”
