Former Governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda, has said that President Bola Tinubu cannot be blamed for the current hardship and high inflation facing Nigerians.
Speaking at the first edition of the Asiwaju Scorecard Series organized by the All Progressives Congress Professionals Forum in Abuja, on Tuesday, Yuguda stressed that the economy was already in a dire state before Tinubu assumed office.
Despite some improvement in the exchange rate of the naira against the dollar, the cost of food items and overall inflation have continued to rise, causing significant distress among Nigerians.
However, Yuguda argued that the current administration should not be held solely accountable for the struggling economy.
He expressed concern that without the drastic measures and reforms implemented by Tinubu, such as the removal of the fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira, Nigeria would be facing an even more critical situation.
According to Yuguda, the president inherited numerous challenges, including the subsidy scam, widespread corruption in the civil service, and the financial impact of the COVID-19 lockdown, during which billions of naira were spent on subsidizing domestic fuel consumption despite low demand.
He said, “The President did not create any of the problems people are talking about whether in the economy or in the other sectors. In fact, what he met on ground would have created a worse situation if not properly handled but he is championing reforms that are required to pave way for a better society.
“We all recall how on assuming office, President Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidy but again for the avoidance of doubt, he did not remove subsidy on PMS. It was not in the later part of the 2023 budget but surprisingly the Tinubu administration has had to bear the brunt of subsidy removal.
“Let me quickly add that my opposition to fuel subsidy has been well documented since the Goodluck Jonathan years when as chairman of a subcommittee on the economic meltdown, we recommended its removal after a discovery of the scam being perpetrated in the name of fuel subsidy.
“A recent study also showed that despite the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020, Nigeria still paid billions of naira for fuel subsidy even though in reality, domestic fuel consumption was very low.
“Indeed, the President has today been proved right with the manner petrol importation has gone down by 50 per cent since June 2023 and it is almost certain to go down more in a few months when Dangote refinery begins to produce PMS locally as well as the impending resumption of production at the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.”
