In his nationwide broadcast, President Tinubu emphasized the necessity of removing fuel subsidies despite acknowledging the decision as painful.
He highlighted that these subsidies had long hindered Nigeria’s economic development and progress, describing them as a noose around the nation’s economic jugular.
Tinubu argued that the removal was essential to address economic misalignments and to prevent the exploitation by smugglers and rent-seekers.
He also mentioned abolishing multiple foreign exchange systems to further economic stability. The President positioned these actions as crucial steps towards reversing decades of economic mismanagement, aiming to deliver effective governance for the benefit of the Nigerian people.
In his words

‘’For decades, our economy has remained anaemic and taken a dip because of many misalignments that have stunted our growth. Just over a year ago, our dear country, Nigeria, reached a point where we couldn’t afford to continue the use of temporary solutions to solve long-term problems for the sake of now and our unborn generations. I therefore took the painful yet necessary decision to remove fuel subsidies and abolish multiple foreign exchange systems which had constituted a noose around the economic jugular of our Nation and impeded our economic development and progress.

These actions blocked the greed and the profits that smugglers and rent-seekers made. They also blocked the undue subsidies we had extended to our neighbouring countries to the detriment of our people, rendering our economy prostrate. These decisions I made were necessary if we must reverse the decades of economic mismanagement that didn’t serve us well. Yes, I agree, the buck stops on my table. But I can assure you that I am focused fully on delivering the governance to the people – good governance for that matter.”