He Decided To Take The Bullets – Alake Reveals What Tinubu Risked Over Fuel Subsidy

Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, has defended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy.

Alake said the President accepted the political consequences of the policy because of the need to improve Nigeria’s economy.

Naija News reports that the minister spoke on Wednesday in Abuja during an interactive session with members of the All Progressives Congress Press Corps.

Alake who was recently appointed Director of Strategic Communications for the Tinubu 2027 presidential campaign, said earlier administrations were aware that the subsidy system could not continue but avoided removing it because of the possible political consequences.

According to him, successive governments delayed the decision because they were concerned about elections and the reaction of Nigerians.

He said Tinubu chose to proceed with the reform despite knowing that it would lead to public anger and hardship.

“There is no shortcut to genuine reforms. I do not need to elaborate on the fact that we knew what the Nigerian economy was before 2023. And I do not need to inform you that all the reforms and the policies that were and are necessary to correct these distortions and contradictions in the Nigerian society were there and identifiable by those previous governments. The only thing lacking was the courage to take those decisions.

“And there is no shortcut. They say, our elders say, when you are in a hole, what do you do? You stop digging. Because the more you dig, the deeper you sink. But because those previous governments lacked the courage to stop digging, for short-term political expedience, they were afraid of elections; they were afraid of bringing them back to office and all that. So they shifted those decisions, the hard decisions they ought to have taken. I recall, and most of you will be aware, many years ago there was this issue of removal of fuel subsidy, which dominated the space in Nigeria.

“And there were protests: subsidies should not be removed; they should be removed. The government at that time knew they were removing them; they should be removed. But the fact of the matter was, it went back on the process of removing them. When there were protests, it backtracked because there was an election coming. And so people swallowed the bitter pill. But somebody came and decided to swallow the bitter pill, to take the bullets on behalf of Nigerians.

“I think we should, in all sense of fairness and objectivity, give a commendation to whom it is due. If a man, who is a politician himself, who should be very sensitive to elections, decided to take the bullets, regardless of the consequences on his own political career, on behalf of the nation, because the nation had to be reset. I think it’s just very, very important for us to appreciate that.

“So the beneficiaries of the fuel subsidy were the oil cartels. They would buy the fuel at a lower price, cross the border, and immediately make humongous profits. And they come back to Nigeria to oppress the rest of us. So when the fuel subsidy was removed, did you think that they would fold their arms and be looking? No! They will fight back. They will push back. And they are fighting back, and they are pushing back.

“Now, at that time when there was a fuel subsidy, you recall how many states couldn’t pay salaries. In fact, the federal government itself was borrowing to pay salaries. And at some point, I recall, more than 18 states, if not more, could not meet wages. It was a tough situation. Money that should have been freed, you know, and put into use, into infrastructure and all that, constructing the regenerative sections of the economy, could not get the funds”, he said.