Rep warns FG against subsidy removal

A member of the House of Representatives, Ayo Tajudeen (Kogi, PDP), at the weekend warned the federal government to resist the temptation of sudden removal of fuel subsidy.

Tajudeen, who said this against feelers that federal government was no longer comfortable with subsidy regime, added that while not opposed to subsidy removal, such an exercise must be gradual or done in phases.

He said enough palliatives must be put in place to cushion the hardship that the removal could cause before any step “is taken to remove it and the date of final removal must be known to every Nigerians.”

He said: “If you want to take away subsidy from Nigerians, plan it because if you do not, the common man on the street will face the challenges he cannot bear and he will revolt.

“The procedure of taking away subsidy should have human face; we met and told them that we should start in states by having palliatives.”
Asked about his change of mind having sponsored a motion in the past for retention of subsidy, Tajudeen said “I never opposed subsidy and till date I am not, but I insist that you plan so that the masses do not suffer unduly for no fault of theirs.”

“If you had listened to me on the day in question, I said I was not opposed to the removal of subsidy. I am an economist, you do not subsidise consumption, but rather, you subsidise production.”