…..Defends Tinubu’s Economic Reforms

The Presidency on Saturday criticised Nigerians for what it described as a “Lack of memory,” accusing citizens of forgetting the economic conditions inherited by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration in 2023.

The Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Bayo Onanuga, made this remark while speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show.

Speaking on the programme, Onanuga defended the administration’s controversial economic decisions, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy, which has led to widespread public outcry and economic hardship.

He insisted that the nation was already facing severe fuel shortages before President Tinubu assumed office, a situation he says many Nigerians have chosen to forget.

He said, “Many Nigerians sometimes exhibit the problem of a lack of memory. We have very short memory—we forget where we started from and we just start blaming President Tinubu for all the problems that Nigeria is going through.”

Highlighting the context surrounding the administration’s early days, Onanuga recalled the fuel crisis that plagued the country even before Tinubu’s inauguration in May 2023.

According to him, the persistent fuel shortages during the 2023 election season underscored a broken subsidy regime and an overburdened Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).

“I remember in May 2023, when Tinubu took over the government, there was a fuel shortage in this country. Throughout the election period, there was a fuel shortage. People forget that easily,” he emphasised.

Onanuga explained that the removal of the fuel subsidy was a critical first step to stabilise fuel availability and alleviate the financial burdens of the NNPC, which was reportedly owed over ₦4 trillion by the federal government at the time.

He reaffirmed that the Tinubu administration took a bold but necessary stance by eliminating fuel subsidies to save future generations from unsustainable fiscal deficits.

“There was no way Nigeria could have sustained the regime of fuel subsidy. The resources just aren’t there, and we were spending money that should belong to future generations,” Onanuga stated.

Despite acknowledging the hardship resulting from the subsidy removal, Onanuga maintained that the government has remained transparent and is actively working to cushion the impact on ordinary Nigerians.

“This government has been honest in admitting some of the problems and consequences of removing the fuel subsidy. It has also introduced several measures to alleviate the pains faced by Nigerians,” he added.