According to Bisi Akande, a former governor of Osun State, former President Muhammadu Buhari refrained from eliminating fuel subsidies in order to deflect criticism.
This was stated by Akande during a Friday interview on a Channels Television program.
Akande claims that after Buhari initially withdrew it and received harsh criticism while expressing dissatisfaction with the choice, he chose not to be publicly chastised.
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“Removal of subsidy—we had several discussions, sessions, and meetings to see that the subsidy should be removed between the time Buhari waws elected president and the time he was inaugurated,” he stated.
And he was persuaded. And I assumed that after he assumed office, he would stop providing the subsidy, but I’m not sure what transpired.
He began to exercise caution following his inauguration and slowed down until the first four years. Thus, when he took office at the start of his first term, he intended to eliminate the subsidies, but the nation protested, forcing him to change his mind.
Therefore, I didn’t feel comfortable with Buhari holding the subsidy from the start. Since Nigerians would have become accustomed to it by now, the subsidy should have been eliminated during his administration.
Akande went on to say that he anticipated the subsidy being removed early in Buhari’s presidency.
But he claimed to have noticed a shift in strategy following Buhari’s election, with a measured and steady approach that persisted for the first four years.
Akande pointed out that Buhari had originally planned to eliminate the subsidy at the start of his first term, but that decision was changed in response to public outcry.