Jan. 25, 2022

President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olumide Akpata, says the decision to postpone the removal of fuel subsidy is not far from the forthcoming general elections.

He stated this on Monday during his appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, hours after the government said it would postpone the removal of fuel subsidy earlier scheduled to commence in June.

“The subsidy issue is a hot potato for any government, particularly in this part of the world,” the NBA president said.

“I would have loved to believe it is because the government cares so much about the people, and it is a government that is listening to the cries of the people, because indeed, as the minister of finance mentioned, it would be really tough if subsidy removal is implemented at this time with all of the other supervening circumstances.”

Amidst outcry by labour unions and other stakeholders in the country, the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said the government was reconsidering its June deadline.

However Akpata believes that the government made a U-turn because of the forth coming elections.

“The strategists (of the government) would probably have sat down to think about it and they have told those who they advise that it would be political hara-kiri; it would be suicidal at this point in time to take out subsidy going into an election, which is just around the corner,” he stated.

“This is what I think because those kinds of hard decisions, I don’t think are the kind of decisions you want to take going into an election. Those are my thoughts.”