No Preparation Before Subsidy Remover, Bugaje Laments

The Bola Tinubu administration has come under fire from Usman Bugaje for announcing the fuel subsidy without first putting forward any preparations to mitigate its effects. 

The former member of the House of Representatives stated this on Monday during his appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today. 

Recall that during his inauguration that subsidy has come to an end, his comment caused tension and triggered a hike in the cost of living.

Bugaje lamented tha Tinubu’s government had little preparation before taking such a step.

“We had expected that when the new government took over,  we were expecting that he would surround himself with expertise. We were expecting that for him to have announced the removal of the fuel subsidy, he must have had a plan – something that would address the consequences of that.” 

“You don’t make a policy without looking at the consequences and preparing to cushion the effect of that. But apparently, he did that without preparation.”

Following the announcement, the government has unveiled strategies, including palliatives, and met with labor unions multiple times to discuss ways to mitigate the effects of the elimination of subsidies.

However, Bugaje has criticized federal government officials in particular for being disconnected from the reality of Nigerians’ predicament.

He asserted that they lack ideas on how to handle the issues arising from the withdrawal of subsidies and other difficulties Nigeria faces.

“I can see a lot of sycophancy around him (Tinubu). People are not engaging him. They are not telling him the truth and he seems to be very comfortable with the kind of people he has around him who don’t seem to have any ideas in their heads,” he said.

“They don’t seem to have any solutions to the problems that we have and they are always trying to find excuses.”

“If you want to know what is happening, talk to the pastors and imams,” Bugaje said.