Bisiologe 
President Bola Tinubu has disclosed that over N1 trillion has been saved within two months after the Federal Government removed fuel subsidy and moved to unify the country’s multiple exchange rates, to correct the imbalances that were discovered in the Nigerian economy.
Tinubu said that the funds that was saved after he assumed office would have ended up in the pockets of some elites that were benefitting from the government continued payment of subsidy on fuel, leaving the country to grapple with infrastructure deficiencies.
He noted that the over N1 trillion saved by his government would be used for inrastructures and projects that would benefit not only some selected citizens but every Nigerian irrespective of their status in the country.
In a nationwide broadcast on Monday, Tinubu defended his decision to scrap the petrol subsidy, which he described as a strategy that had outlived its useullness and does not beneit the masses which the policy was introduced for.
He said: “In a little over two months, we have saved over a trillion naira that would have been squandered on the unproductive fuel subsidy which only benefited smugglers and fraudsters.That money will now be used more directly and more beneficially for you and your families.
The president said he was aware of the hardship the subsidy removal had caused and was “monitoring the effects of the exchange rate and inflation on gasoline prices”, adding that he would intervene if and when necessary.
The World Bank said last month Nigeria could save up to N3.9 trillion this year alone after Tinubu’s reforms but warned of growing inflationary pressures in the short term, considering that the policy caught many Nigerians unaware.
“For several years, I have consistently maintained the position that the fuel subsidy had to go. This once beneficial measure had outlived its usefulness. The subsidy cost us trillions of Naira yearly. Such a vast sum of money would have been better spent on public transportation, healthcare, schools, housing and even national security. Instead, it was being funnelled into the deep pockets and lavish bank accounts of a select group of individuals.
“This group had amassed so much wealth and power that they became a serious threat to the fairness of our economy and the integrity of our democratic governance. To be blunt, Nigeria could never become the society it was intended to be as long as such small, powerful yet unelected groups hold enormous influence over our political economy and the institutions that govern it.
“The whims of the few should never hold dominant sway over the hopes and aspirations of the many. If we are to be a democracy, the people and not the power of money must be sovereign.
“The preceding administration saw this looming danger as well. Indeed, it made no provision in the 2023 Appropriations for subsidy after June this year. Removal of this once helpful device that had transformed into a millstone around the country’s neck had become inevitable.
