Former governor of Ekiti State, and one time Minister of the Federal Republic, Kayode Fayemi, has alleged that former President Goodluck Jonathan lacked the conviction to remove the petrol subsidy in 2012.
Fayemi made this disclosure while speaking at the Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference and Book Launch on Tuesday in Abuja.
The former Governor stated that contrary to the popular opinions, most governors were in favour of subsidy removal during Jonathan’s administration. He, however, insisted that the former President failed to stand by his own policy decision.
“When we’re talking about the 2012 Occupy Nigeria and the opposition to President Jonathan, the truth of the matter was that the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, of which I was a member, was the major advocate of subsidy removal.
“Yes, my party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), did not support subsidy removal. In fact, myself and Adams Oshiomhole were active promoters of it in all of the town hall meetings held at the time.
“I think when people want to blame the opposition for not lining up behind President Jonathan, there is something to be said for President Jonathan lacking the conviction to go ahead and do what he believed in, and ensure that subsidy was removed,” the former Minister stated.
“What did President Tinubu do? He came in and said subsidy is gone from day one. He could have opted out of it, especially when the pressure started mounting in the first month and prices began to rise. But he stayed on course. And I think that is the courage we must commend him for,” he said.
Fayemi, however, noted that the greater challenge lies on how the petrol subsidy removal policy is managed.
He said the greater challenge lies on how the petrol subsidy removal policy is managed to reduce the hardship faced by ordinary Nigerians.
The former Minister pointed out that government must demonstrate that savings from subsidy removal are being used to uplift ordinary Nigerians.
He said, “It is not true that pain automatically brings gain. Gain only follows pain if the government spends wisely, eliminates waste and supports the poor.”