Buba Galadima, an elder statesman and a chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), has said that while President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is on the right track in his administration, he could have handled the issue of subsidy removal in a better way.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Galadima said that although the President has taken hard decisions for the good of the country, the matter of subsidy removal could have been handled in a more efficient way. He said, “He took hard decisions, removed the oil subsidy. But if I were him, I would have done it differently…I could have enquired on even how and why this subsidy kept on accumulating in quotas to this level where we are. That is the difference.
“And part of it would have been that, if I were an adviser to Mr. President, I would have advised for him to take some measures such that the removal will not be painful. The removal will not have far reaching effects on the social life of the country, especially the ordinary man.”
“The president must take an urgent action to address the issue of palliatives. For example, I personally went to Taki trying to explore possibilities of getting a company that will come and establish the CNG plant in Nigeria, such that the cost of fuel, this petrol that had gone to 500+ naira across the country could be reduced to 100 to 120 naira per litre of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).And once we are able, for example, to import all these equipment and all these facilities which the government must do quickly and address the situation, import buses that use the CNG so that we can reduce interstate cost of travelling for the ordinary man.
“Now, I believe that if I were in government, I could have suggested that in order to assist workers that earn 30,000 naira per annum, we reduce the working days from 5 to even 4, such that when the economy stabilizes, we can come back to 5 days per week. These are issues that government must sit down and address properly in the interest of the country.”
Speaking on President Tinubu’s achievements as he reached 30 days in office, Galadima said, “One month is too early for anybody to access an administration that has inherited millions of problems in a country like Nigeria. However, so far, one would say that the man started on a good footing. He has made appointments to help him carry the task of steering the ship of state.”
“It is also on record that the man has touched the economy by trying to merge the parallel market with the official rate of the dollar. And even though causing some ripples, we know for sure that it will subside.”
“From what we hear in the press or what we read in the social media, the president is on the right track because it looks like the man is trying to look for the best quality people, knowledgeable people, rather than partisan considerations in these appointments. I would say that we must be patient, give him some latitude.”
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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