A Former Presidential Aspirant, Dr Thomas-Wilson Ikubese has declared that Nigerians need to sacrifice for the nation to function as he described the announcement of fuel subsidy removal by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a tough decision.
Dr Ikubese, a crusader of an egalitarian society, said the new administration must be supported by all for proper implementation of the new policy inspite of the challenges currently posed.
Dr Ikuvese, who is also the Founder of Yeswefit Revolutionary Movement, in an article written on his Facebook Page, noted that subsidy removal is a sacrifice necessary for a Functional Nigerian State.
He bemoaned lack of political will by the Buhari administration to remove fuel subsidy which is long overdue, saying the last minute attempt of the former president was the passage of the 2023 Appropriation Act that made provision for subsidy up to the 30th of June 2023.
The Highly Respected Medical Doctor, condemned petroleum marketers who hoarded the products and swiftly adjusted pump prices upwards within 24 hours President Tinubu pronounced the removal of fuel subsidy.
”Yes, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu mentioned that he was going to remove subsidy during the presidential campaign, but this removal is the handwork of President Buhari and the 9th National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
Ikubese said President Tinubu didn’t erred with the pronouncement saying subsidy over the years has been a conduit pipe via which the political class siphoned billions of dollars of the country’s scarce resources.
He stated further that if the immediate past president could push subsidy removal into the 2023 budget, he ought to have gotten the country’s refineries functional in his eight years administration.
While commending the bold steps of the President, he noted that President TInubu should have gone a step further by warning petroleum marketers against hoarding petroleum products and selling their current stocks at higher rates.
”He should have instructed the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to be on standby, working in conjunction with security agencies to revoke the license of filling stations that hoard products or jerk up the prices of their current stocks arbitrarily”.
Dr Ikubese added that Nigerians collective allegiance should be to the Nigerian state and not to any individual or political party, saying election is over and winner has been declared by the INE.
“Pending the conclusion of the judicial process wherein the declaration is challenged in court, while the court sits, we must support the government in building a functional nation that we can all be proud of,” he said.
