Waffi TV reported that President Bola Tinubu, during his inaugural speech on May 29…..
By Oluwafemi Aboyo:
Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a human rights lawyer, has stressed the need for the Nigerian government to promptly tackle the hardships faced by its citizens due to the elimination of fuel subsidies. Falana conveyed this message during his appearance on the Politics Today program on Channels TV on Friday evening.
He emphasized that the removal of the fuel subsidy is a consequence of the government’s negligence and its inability to fulfill its pledges of reforming the oil industry.
“The government will have to move speedily to address the suffering of the people, undeserved pains inflicted on the people, because of the irresponsibility of the Nigerian ruling class,” he said.
The failure of the immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari, to fulfill his 2015 promise of fixing all the refineries upon assuming power was highlighted by the human rights lawyer. In light of this, the human rights activist urged the Federal Government to take swift action to alleviate the hardships faced by the citizens.
Waffi TV reported that President Bola Tinubu, during his inaugural speech on May 29, announced the removal of the fuel subsidy, resulting in mixed reactions and a subsequent increase in petrol prices nationwide.
Falana emphasized the crucial aspect of considering the impact on the people when implementing government policies.
“It’s clear that those who initially applauded the removal of fuel subsidy are beginning to appreciate the enormity of the crisis that it has caused for the country. They are now mounting pressure on the government to fast-track the process of cushioning the effects of the removal,” he said.
He also urged the FG to investigate the fuel subsidy policy as implemented for years.
“No doubt there was a lot of fraud that characterized the management of fuel subsidy and the government will have to investigate that,” he said.
