A development expert, business economist and vocal member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Tinubu Support Group, Dr Taofiq Raimi, has described President Bola Tinubu’s 30-day petrol discount as part of a holistic approach to cushioning economic hardship and providing relief to Nigerians.
He said the intervention was not designed to win votes ahead of the 2027 general elections but to complement the government’s short-, medium- and long-term measures aimed at addressing economic challenges and reducing the impact of rising petrol prices on transportation, food and other essential goods.
“What the President has done with this new policy is part of his holistic approach to bring relief to Nigerians.
“When you want to solve a deep economic problem, you use different measures: short-term, medium-term, and long-term. It is an aggregate of all of these that the President has continued to use since he became the President of the Federal Republic.
“Like the opposition and some other people who are opposing the government, have been arguing that this is just like a joker to convince voters by 2027. No, what the President has done is looking at what he could do more in order to bring relief to Nigerians.”
Responding to concerns over the limited number of NNPC stations offering the discount, Raimi said even a policy benefiting 10 to 20 per cent of Nigerians could provide relief. He also defended the timing, arguing that there was no better time to do the right thing.
“Every big thing starts small. Whatever policy can cushion the effect, even if it is for 10% or 20% of the population.
“Why not now? There is no better time to do the right thing.”
Dismissing the opposition’s criticism of the discount, Raimi accused Peter Obi and the NDC of lacking clear policy direction, saying the 30-day petrol discount could be extended if necessary.
He also defended the government’s budget implementation, insisting that public funds were being channelled into infrastructure.
“First of all, let me say it without any form of contradiction that NDC and their presidential candidate have no plan about what he is going to do if ever he gets elected as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Peter Obi said he is going to remove fuel subsidy. At another point, very recently in one of the interviews conducted by a mainstream television station, he said he’s not going to do that again. So he’s a confused person. Their party is confused and they don’t even know what to do about anything—not only the economy, but education, housing, and every sector.
“If after 30 days there is still the need to come up with an extension, I know my President—I will even appeal to him to please do this till January. It’s possible.
“The money is going into infrastructure, as we can see. Secondly, it is being implemented, but I know we all agree that it can be better. To say that the budget is not being implemented is an exaggeration. The government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu never said that the budget is not being implemented.”
Favour Odima
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