Renowned journalism scholar, Farooq Kperogi, has criticized the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, describing the policy as one that has worsened economic hardship while benefiting political elites.
Speaking on the podcast Conversations with Prof. Jideofor Adibe, the influential newspaper columnist said politicians often fail to implement the policies they advocate before coming into office, arguing that subsidy regimes exist in different forms across countries.
He contended that the narrative around subsidies in Nigeria has been deliberately reshaped to make any call for their return appear “retrogressive,” despite what he described as their continued existence in other guises.
According to him, the recent policy shift has amounted to what he regarded as a transfer of burden from the wealthy to ordinary citizens.
Kperogi also criticized comments suggesting that state governments have benefited from increased revenues following the subsidy removal, arguing that many states still struggle to meet basic obligations, including salary payments, despite higher allocations.
He stated in parts;
“In the United States, subsidies exist at all levels. Right now, our government is subsidizing petrol consumption due to the unnaturally steep increase.
“But we have a country in Nigeria that is petrol dependent, where all the major political players have agreed that subsidy should be gone. And we are all living with the consequences of the withdrawal of the subsidy.
“What they have done is demonize the word subsidy. So that anyone who says bring back subsidy is seen as retrogressive.
“Subsidies exist for the elites. What has happened in the past three years is a very bold, audacious Robinhoodism; It’s stealing from the poor and giving to the rich. ”
“The subsidy removal has only enriched the governors and the president goes out to say that one of the advantages of the fuel subsidy removal is that governors now have more money but I thought that was shameless for anyone to say. What are they doing with the money? They have not done anything extraordinary. Some state governors can not pay minimum wage, yet petrol prices have gone up.”
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He maintained that the most positive development under the Tinubu administration so far is the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which he said could help ease the burden on students.
