Yakubu Dogara, a former House of Representatives speaker, has said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu wasn’t the one that removed subsidy on petroleum products.

According to Dogara, though the president declared that ‘subsidy is gone’, he was not the one who initiated the policy.

The former speaker explained that before Tinubu was elected into office, the budget approved by the National Assembly did not include a provision for subsidy payment.

Speaking on Friday, September 27, on Channels TV, the former speaker said that although Nigerians were feeling the accompanying effect of subsidy removal, it was the right move for the country's progress.

As reported by The Punch, he added that the era where Nigerians just talk about several challenges bedevilling the country without discussion on solution must be left behind. He noted that real changes come with sacrifices.

Dogara said:

“In this case, there was no provision for it, and anybody who told you he (Tinubu) suspended it was just joking because how did he suspend payment that was not budgeted for in the first instance?”

Recall that Tinubu, on May 29, 2023, maintained that his administration could no longer fund the fuel subsidy.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his inaugural speech, noted that there was no room for payment of fuel subsidy in his budget.

“Subsidy is gone,” Tinubu exclaimed during his inaugural address at Eagle Square, Abuja, shortly after he was sworn in as the 16th President of Nigeria.