If President Bola Tinubu’s administration fails to get rid of the fuel subsidy, Vice President Kashim Shettima claims that Nigeria would inevitably suffer in the long run.
According to Shettima, the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy would be in the interests of the majority as opposed to the upper class, who would object because they have always benefited from it.
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The vice president said this Tuesday while speaking to journalists after he resumed office as the number two citizen in Aso Villa, Abuja.
Tinubu had announced that fuel subsidy will be removed shortly after he was inaugurated as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Reacting to the announcement on Tuesday, Shettima said;
The President has already made pronouncements yesterday on the issue of the fuel subsidy. The truth of the matter is that it is either we get rid of the subsidy or the fuel subsidy gets rid of the Nigerian nation.
In 2022, we spent $ 10 billion subsidising the ostentatious lifestyle of the upper class of society because you and I benefit 90% from the oil subsidy. The poor 40% of Nigerians benefit very little.
And we know the consequences of unveiling a masquerade. We will get fierce opposition from those benefitting from the oil subsidy scam. But where there is a will, there is a way. Be rest assured that our president is a man of strong will and conviction.
In the fullness of time, you will appreciate his noble intentions for the nation. The issue of fuel subsidy will be frontally addressed. The earlier we do so, the better.