•Femi Falana and a fuel pump nozzle
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has once again questioned the subsidy removal policy, saying Nigerians are yet to feel the impact of funds saved from the move.
Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said this on Channels Television last night, where he questioned what the extra funds accrued to governments are being used for.
“I was just reading some news about a particular road in Ekiti State, the road that leads to Afe Babalola University. And everybody there is asking the Abuja people to come and fix the road, whereas between January and May this year, that local government has taken about N5.4 billion,” he said on the show.
“So you can’t fix a road with less than 500 million naira? And in any case, state governments were fixing roads, and they would then go to Abuja to ask for a refund. So, we must begin to ask questions of the local government, the state government, and the federal government.
“If you say we are making more money, we don’t want to go back to the era of the fuel subsidy scam. Where are the benefits? It’s a fallacy being told to wait and wait and wait. People are dying.”
According to Falana, Nigeria is selling more crude oil and also “making more money”.
“Now, the money earmarked for fuel importation by the government — $10 billion per annum — ought to have been saved, but the bulk of this money goes for servicing of debt. That’s where the problem lies,” the lawyer said.
He said that with more money coming to the government across all tiers, Nigerians should demand accountability from their leaders.
“Yes, state governments are getting more money. The federal government is getting more money. Local governments are getting more money on paper. It is the duty of the Nigerian people now to demand accountability,” the 68-year-old activist said.
President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidy upon assuming office in May 2023, leading to a rise in the cost of the essential commodity.
His government defended the action, saying subsidy payment was not budgeted for (as of when he took over) and argued that states now have more funds for projects.
But critics have faulted the policy, noting that many Nigerians have not fared better since the removal of subsidy. That singular policy has been the subject of intense debates with months left to the 2027 elections.
The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, said he will be restory fuel subsidy. However, Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has backed the policy but said that the funds should be used judiciously.
