Former Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, has drawn a comparison between former President, Goodluck Jonathan, and President Bola Tinubu’s approach to subsidy removal.
Naijaonpoint reports that Fayemi, while speaking at the Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference held on Tuesday in Abuja, reflected on Nigeria’s economic policies, leadership values, and the courage needed to make tough governance decisions.
Fayemi blamed Jonathan for lacking the courage to implement the removal of the fuel subsidy during his administration, despite having the support of key stakeholders at the time.
He revealed that, contrary to public perception, many governors under Jonathan’s administration, including himself, supported the removal of fuel subsidy, even though the then-opposition party, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), opposed it politically.
Fayemi criticised Jonathan for bowing to political pressure instead of standing firm on what he believed was an economically sound policy.
In contrast to Jonathan, Fayemi commended Tinubu for showing decisive leadership by ending the fuel subsidy from the first day of his administration, despite the economic and political backlash that followed.
He said, “When we’re talking about 2012 Occupy Nigeria and the opposition to President Jonathan, the truth of the matter was that the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, of which I was a member, were the major advocates for subsidy removal.
“Yes, my party, the Action Congress of Nigeria at the time, did not support subsidy removal. In fact, myself and Oshiomhole were active promoters of it in all the town hall meetings that were held at the time.”
“I think when people want to blame the opposition for not lining up behind President Jonathan, there’s something to be said for President Jonathan lacking the conviction to go ahead to do what he believed in and ensure that subsidy is removed.
“What did President Tinubu do? He came in and said subsidy is gone from day one. He could have opted out of it, especially when the pressure started mounting in the first month and prices began to rise. But he stayed on course and that is the courage we must commend him for.”
However, Fayemi cautioned that while policy courage is important, managing the aftermath of such bold economic decisions is equally critical.
He added, “The devil is always in the detail. What comes after is how you manage it so that the population does not feel a sense of loss, as they are feeling at this particular point in time.”
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