General
I Delayed Subsidy Removal to Enable Tinubu Become President—Buhari
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The immediate past president of Nigeria, Mr Muhammadu Buhari, has explained why he did not remove the payment of subsidy on the premium motor spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol when he was in power.
The government of Mr Buhari paid several trillions of Naira in fuel subsidy despite describing it as a fraud before he took over from former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.
After signing the Petroleum Industry Bill into law, Mr Buhari delayed its implementation, especially because of the part which made it illegal to pay petrol subsidy. Instead, he passed this on to his successor.
On May 29, 2023, when he handed over power to Mr Bola Tinubu, the new leader declared that subsidy for fuel was gone because his predecessor did not make provision for its payment in the 2023 budget.
On Monday, June 26, 2023, Mr Buhari, through his spokesman, Mr Garba Shehu, explained that the decision to delay the removal of the petrol subsidy was purely political.
In a note titled Buhari Didn’t Fail To Remove Subsidy, he explained that Mr Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would have lost the presidential election if it had been removed before the exercise.
“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,” he said.
Read the full statement below:
Why did it take the new Tinubu/ Shettima presidency weeks to remove the petrol subsidy when Buhari didn’t do so for years fails to ask the right question.
The massive electricity subsidy. The fraudulent fertilizer subsidy. Hajj/Christian Pilgrim subsidies. Remember them?
The diesel subsidy. The aviation fuel subsidy. LPFO. Kerosene. Cooking gas and the other subsidy policies we found in place, and put them firmly on the ground. Remember them?
For those with short memories, many of those subsides were all in place when president Buhari was elected to office in 2015: all those in place were gone by May 2023 – including the annual fertilizer subsidy that weighed 60-100 billion Naira (that’s trillion naira in about 10 years – yes you read that right) heavy on the federal budget each year.
So no, Buhari didn’t remove the petrol subsidy – but in vitally important stages he removed every other budget-busting, egregious, economic-growth-crushing subsidy along the way.
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 a 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. We have nothing but confidence that the new administration will carry the nation and all its constituents into a stable future in the aftermath of these major economic and financial decisions.
As they say, there are times when you have to lose in order to win.
Garba Shehu
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Power, Mr Bayo Adelabu, on Monday addressed students of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan who are staging a peaceful protest on the lingering power cut at the school.
Business Post reports that the outage has lasted over 100 days, with Monday making it 101 days since the hospital was disconnected from the grid in October 2024 by Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) over an outstanding debt of about N500 million.
The Student Union of the University of Ibadan in conjunction with the College of Medicine staged a peaceful protest to draw the attention of the Federal Government to the development but nothing has been done to the effect.
The protesters demanded an immediate reconnection of UCH and the implementation of a 50 per cent tariff reduction they claim the Minister promised the hospital.
Meanwhile, Mr Adelabu appealed to the students to allow for dialogue while proposing a truce between the IBEDC and UCH.
The students carried placards with different inscriptions such as +100 Days of Darkness: Save UCH; Save ABH Hall; Save Falade Hall; Give Us Light; This Is Not How We Want To Live; Medical School Is Hard Enough—Give Us Light; All We Are Saying, Give Us Light, among others.
The students had protested on January 26, 2025, to the State and Federal Secretariats, Agodi, Ibadan, with the hope that the management would fix the issue, but with the 100-day milestone, the new protest hopes there will be resolution
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The National Assembly has been advised to consider the creation of five additional states to address regional imbalance in the number of states in the country’s six geopolitical zones to ensure equity, fairness, and justice in the distribution of resources and opportunities among various regions.
Over the weekend, the nation was busy with proposal from some Nigerians on the creation of additional 31 states to bring the total to 67 states.
Reacting to this, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) submitted that instead of creating almost double of what the country currently has, five fresh states should be created from four regions.
In a statement signed by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Mr James Ezema, the CNPP argued that, “Democracy does not support injustice. The basic principles of democracy derive from free, fair, justice, and equitable distribution of resources, and the rule of law.”
The group emphasized that addressing the imbalance in the number of states in each geopolitical zone was crucial for promoting unity, stability, and progress in Nigeria.
“The CNPP proposes that each of the six geopolitical zones should have seven states each, based on economic viability and other relevant factors for the new states to be created.
“Specifically, the North Central and North West zones already have seven states, while the rest of the zones have six states each, except the South East region with only five states.
“There is the need to create one additional state each for the South West, North East, and South-South zones and two additional states should be created in the South East zone.
“Once this is achieved, the National Assembly can consider creating additional states in each of the six geopolitical zones.
“The CNPP believes that this is a necessary step towards ensuring that every region in Nigeria has an equal opportunity to develop and contribute to the growth and prosperity of the nation.
“We urge the National Assembly to take this matter seriously and work towards creating a more just and equitable society for all Nigerians.
“The CNPP has consistently advocated for good governance, transparency, and accountability in Nigeria. The CNPP as the umbrella body of all registered political parties and political associations in Nigeria remains committed to promoting the principles of democracy and ensuring that the rights and interests of all Nigerians are protected and advanced,” it noted.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria and Bahrain are working to strengthen diplomatic ties, focusing on trade, investment, and oil and gas cooperation.
The two countries recently engaged in bilateral discussions aimed at facilitating foreign direct investment, enhancing trade and investment opportunities and equally fostering cooperation in the oil and gas sectors.
A statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Alkasim AbdulKadir, said his boss, Mr Yusuf Tuggar, recently visited Manama in the Kingdom of Bahrain and engaged in bilateral discussions with his Bahraini counterpart, Mr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.
It was revealed that the meeting focused on strengthening diplomatic relations, facilitating foreign direct investment from Bahrain, enhancing trade and investment opportunities, and fostering cooperation in the oil and gas sectors, with particular emphasis on onshore projects and the development of the 8th train LNG.
Train 8 is part of efforts for Nigeria to boost its Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) capacity but it hasn’t been able to do so because of low investments and insecurity with its energy infrastructure.
The Ministry also said the both parties also deliberated on the training of Nigerian diplomats and collaboration within multilateral forums.
He disclosed that both ministers signed a Joint Communiqué, officially establishing diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Kingdom of Bahrain, noting that this agreement marks a significant milestone in fostering closer ties and mutual cooperation between the two nations.
He said this development aligns with Bahrain’s ongoing efforts to strengthen international partnerships, stating that recently, Mr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, chaired the third meeting of the national committee for monitoring the implementation of the outcomes of the Bahrain Summit Initiatives, underscoring the kingdom’s commitment to global collaboration.
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