Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and prominent human rights activist, Femi Falana, has renewed his criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy.
Speaking during a televised interview, Falana emphasized that no country in the world has completely eliminated subsidies.
“There’s no way you can remove subsidy completely. No country in the entire world has abolished subsidies completely,” he said.
Falana pointed out that even advanced economies such as the United States, United Kingdom, and France continue to provide subsidies in key sectors including electricity, agriculture, and other critical areas that affect the daily lives of their citizens.
He further claimed that Nigeria’s move to scrap fuel subsidies was not entirely a sovereign decision but was influenced by international financial institutions.
“If I must say this, it was the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that insisted the government must remove all subsidies,” Falana stated.
The removal of fuel subsidies has been a highly controversial and politically sensitive issue in Nigeria, with many citizens concerned about rising fuel prices and their impact on the cost of living. Falana’s comments reignite the debate about the role of international bodies in shaping Nigeria’s economic policies and the social consequences of subsidy reforms.
