The immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, says President Bola Tinubu’s administration is now paying more for fuel subsidy than before.

El-Rufai said this while speaking with journalists in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Monday, January 15, 2024.

The former governor, who described the removal of fuel subsidy as a right policy, said: “The federal government is now subsidising fuel; many people don’t know this.

“It is a right policy. I have always supported the withdrawal of oil subsidy but in the course of implementing the policy, the government realised that subsidy has to be back.

“Right now, government is paying a lot of money for subsidy, even more than before.

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“You start implementing a policy because you are absolutely sure it is the right policy, but in the course of implementation, you come across bottlenecks, and you modify.

“The keyword in leadership, in my view, is pragmatism. You should be pragmatic. So when you make a policy, you start implementing it, and it doesn’t seem to work well. You should have the humility to stand back and say this is not working, and you modify it.”

The Star recalls that Tinubu, on inauguration day, May 29, 2023, announced the removal of subsidy on petroleum products.

“Subsidy is gone” Tinubu declared during his inaugural address at Eagle Square in Abuja, shortly after he was sworn in as the 16th President of Nigeria.

He stated that there would no longer be a petroleum subsidy regime as the current 2023 budget he glimpsed does not contain it.

He added that funds for subsidy will be diverted to other things like public infrastructure, education, health care, and jobs.

Tinubu said: “We commend the decision of the outgoing administration in phasing out the petrol subsidy regime which has increasingly favoured the rich more than the poor. Subsidy can no longer justify its ever-increasing costs in the wake of drying resources.

“We shall, instead, re-channel the funds into better investment in public infrastructure, education, health care and jobs that will materially improve the lives of millions.”

The Star