The presidency has cleared the air on the controversy surrounding the suspension of fuel subsidy removal by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Federal government on Monday, January 24, 2022, assured it will not be removing the subsidy on fuel any time soon, following the outcry by Nigerians.
Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, who made the disclosure, said the Buhari-led government was initially looking at removing fuel subsidy in July 2022.
She said the move triggered the decision to make provisions in the 2022 budget to cushion the possible effect of the removal on Nigerians.
Some concerned citizens had attributed the suspension to the forthcoming 2023 general elections, saying the All Progressives Congress, APC-led government backtracked the move in a bid to retain power during the election.
However, Adesina, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, while featuring on Channels Television programme on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, said the removal was suspended because “the timing was not auspicious”.
“It is a valid thing to do but, was this done because of the elections next year? No.”
“It is done because as the minister (of finance) stated, the timing is not auspicious, inflation is still high. In the past eight months, we saw inflation reducing but the last month, it went up again; further consultations need to happen with all the stakeholders.”
