August 24, (THEWILL) – Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, on Wednesday, said the Federal Government has no clear direction about plans to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal, describing its palliative concept as fraudulent.
Speaking in Benin City, the Edo State capital, the Governor said the country’s situation was taking a turn for the worse due to bad policies of the Government.
“I have always warned. I warned Nigerians during the last May Day this year. I told them that we have come to the end of the road and that the old economic order in Nigeria is gone and we have to come up with a new economic order and stop deceiving ourselves as a nation.
“Now the subsidy is gone; the exchange rate is being aligned. The era of free money has almost come to an end. The consequence is that the weakest and most vulnerable in our society, unfortunately, will carry a huge part of the burden of these policies.
“I am shocked that people who campaigned around the country, saying that they would remove subsidies, had no clear plans on what to do after subsidy removal. They don’t know what to do and how to support those who will be victims of subsidy removal.
“I am shocked and scared of what we are passing through today, where the Government doesn’t seem to have a plan or solution on how to respond to the consequences of the policy measure put in place by their administration.
“With the way they have mismanaged our national economy, we have to deal with inflation, between 20 and 25 per cent. It means that people will feel more pain, especially the weak and vulnerable in society, particularly our pensioners, as whatever they get as their entitlement will do only little for them.
“For us in Edo State, we would not abandon you. We don’t like the word palliative because it is deceitful as we would rather use the word ‘support’. We would support those who are already victims of this policy measure,” he stated.
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