‘Our Protest Against Jonathan’s Subsidy Removal In 2012 Was Politics’ – Fayemi

The former Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi on Tuesday revealed that the protest against fuel subsidy removal during the administration of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan in 2012 was all politics.

Fayemi revealed this while delivering an address at a national dialogue organised to celebrate the 60th birthday celebration of the founding National Secretary of Alliance for Democracy and Fellow, Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, Professor Udenta Udenta, in Abuja.

The programme was attended by Jonathan, former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili; former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, among others.

Goodluck in 2012 has announced the removal of fuel subsidy and adjusted the pump price of petrol from N65 per litre to N141.

The decision led to protests, while the price was later re-adjusted to N97, after more than a week of protests.

Speaking at the event Fayemi said, “Today, I read former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s interview in The Cable saying our liberal democracy is not working and we need to revisit it, and I agree with him. We must move from the political alternatives. I think we are almost on a dead end of that.

“What we need is alternative politics and my own notion of alternative politics is that you can’t have 35 per cent of the vote and take 100 per cent. It won’t work! We must look at proportional representation so that the party that is said to have won 21 per cent of the votes will have 21 per cent of the government. Adversary politics bring division and enmity.

“All political parties in the country agreed and they even put in their manifesto that subsidy must be removed. We all said the subsidy must be removed. But we in ACN at the time, in 2012, we know the truth Sir, but it is all politics.

“That is why we must ensure that everybody is a crucial stakeholder by stopping all these. Let the manifesto of PDP, APC and Labour Party, be put on the table and select all those who will pilot the programme from all parties.”