The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has weighed in on the controversy over the removal of subsidy by President Bola Tinubu, saying his party had initiated the removal but would have provided palliatives.
Atiku, who referred to Tinubu’s administration as a “temporary government,” expressed confidence that he would reclaim his “stolen mandate” at the court.
Speaking in Bauchi State on Saturday when he addressed the PDP officials elected in the 2023 general election, Atiku faulted the approach adopted by the Tinubu-led government in the subsidy removal.
“Between 1999 and 2007, the PDP government initiated the petroleum subsidy removal and I chaired the committee. We achieved subsidy removal in two phases but only after providing palliatives to those most affected by the subsidy removal,” he said.
“We have the experience as a party in government. That is what we would have done and not just announced subsidy removal without discussion with the affected sectors of the economy. I think Nigerians should appreciate what they have temporarily lost.”
Atiku, who referred to Tinubu’s administration as a “temporary government,” expressed confidence that he will reclaim his “stolen mandate” at the court.
He charged the members of the National Assembly elected on the PDP’s platform not to be “rubber stamp members of the National Assembly,” adding that “you are there to serve as a formidable opposition to this temporary administration.”
He said that: “So, for the time being, they have to prepare to work as an effective, constructive opposition while also preparing for possible roles of the majority party when the cases are resolved. A government is waiting, so to speak.
“Therefore, you must please remain resolute; do not work in isolation from one another; you are a team and should always work together as a team to achieve meaningful results and also remain connected to your roots, your constituents, and other stakeholders.
“I like the statement of Oyo State governor today here; let us not let our egos blind our vision of what a political party is and what we should be doing for our party’s growth and our country’s development,” he added.
New Petrol Price May Push Inflation to 30% in June, Says Kale
Meanwhile, the Partner and Chief Economist at KPMG Nigeria, Yemi Kale, has said the new prices of petrol may add about six per cent or more to Nigeria’s inflation rate.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services, climbed to 22.22 per cent in April 2023 — the fourth consecutive surge in Nigeria’s inflation figure since the year started.
Analysing the implications of the new petrol price on the country’s inflation figure, Kale said the inflation rate may increase to 30 per cent in June 2023.
However, the former statistician-general of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said the CPI for May would not be impacted.
“Using the NBS CPI model+my macro model, the new petrol prices may add about six per cent to CPI in June over whatever is reported in May, holding other things constant,” he tweeted.
“April was 22.22 per cent and May is unknown and won’t be affected. So, June will be somewhere about 30 per cent. Not as bad as I expected.”
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