by Peace Akpobome

President Bola Tinubu on Monday night once again rose in defence of his administration’s removal of petrol subsidy, saying he had no regrets embarking on that reform.

The Nigerian leader, in his maiden presidential media chat with select journalists at his Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi residence in Lagos, also justified the tax reforms that have been causing ripples in the economy.

The President addressed other critical national issues, from security to governance, economic reforms and social welfare.

“I don’t have any regrets whatsoever in removing petrol subsidy. We were spending our future. We were spending our generation’s future. We were not investing; we were just deceiving ourselves,” he said.

Despite the initial economic shocks, Tinubu said, the petrol subsidy removal was a necessary step to redirect the country toward sustainable development.

“The market is being saturated. No monopoly, no oligopoly, a free market economy flowing,” he said.

Asked if he would consider price control in the face of daily escalation of prices of essential commodities, the President said he does not believe in price control.

“We will work hard to supply the market,” he said.

Tinubu had, during his inauguration as President of Nigeria on May 29, 2023, announced the removal of subsidy on petrol, triggering immediate hike in the price of the product and its attendant shocks across the economy. Since then, he has laboured to justify that policy reform at every opportunity.

In February, in a keynote address at the 7th edition of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) in Abuja, President Tinubu had said his government’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy was a step towards securing the country’s energy future and economic growth.

Tinubu, who was represented at the event by the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, said the subsidy had, over the years, strained the country’s economic resources, leading to inefficiencies and hindering its ability to invest in critical areas of energy security. Its removal, he noted, had encouraged further private sector participation in the energy industry with potential of attracting more local and international investors, fostering innovation and competition that would drive down costs and improve the overall efficiency of the country’s energy sector.

Similarly, at the opening of a two-day Special World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on April 28, 2024, Tinubu had said the removal of petrol subsidy was a necessary action to prevent the country from going bankrupt and to reset the economy towards growth.

In September, President Tinubu said his decision to remove petrol subsidy was aimed at freeing up budgetary resources for critical investments in infrastructure and social services.

Tinubu, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the 17th Annual Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria Banking and Finance Conference in Port Harcourt, said the subsidy removal was part of his administration’s efforts to reform the macroeconomic environment, reduce inflation, stabilize the foreign exchange market, and improve fiscal management.

During the media chat on Monday night, President Tinubu also defended the tax reforms embarked on by his administration, saying they were in the interest of the poor and were meant to get more people into the tax net.

He stressed the need to implement comprehensive tax reforms aimed at aligning Nigeria’s economy with global standards, as well as creating an efficient tax system that fosters economic growth while reducing dependency on oil revenues.

The tax reform bills are before the National Assembly, but they have continued to generate heated debates and push-back, especially from the Northern elite, who say the reforms are anti-North.

“The tax reforms are here to stay. The reform is pro-poor and it is to widen the tax net, so we can have more people paying,” the President said.

“The hallmark of a good leader is the ability to do what you have to do at the time it ought to be done.

“We cannot continue to do what we were doing yesterday in today’s economy,” he said.

The President acknowledged the temporary hardships caused by his administration’s policies, urging Nigerians to remain patient and hopeful.

“The reforms come with temporary hardships, but conviction about their long-term positive impacts is key in this journey,” Tinubu said.

“It is not going to be El Dorado for everybody, but the new dawn is here. I am convinced, and you should be convinced, and you should help propagate that conviction,” he said.

The President also touched on the country’s security challenges, expressing optimism in the current security architecture and citing notable improvements in previously volatile regions.

“Today, I have confidence in my security architecture,” Tinubu said.

“It is very, very unfortunate that, for two decades, we witnessed wanton killings. I remember when I had to pause my campaign to pay condolence visits to Maiduguri, Katsina, Kaduna, and Kogi. Today, you can travel these roads, which were once impossible. It took one incident to disrupt an organized environment,” he said.

He, once again, condoled with families of those who lost their lives or sustained injuries in the recent stampede incidents linked to sharing of Christmas gifts, stressing, however, the importance of responsible giving.

“Condolences to those who lost a family member, but it is good to give,” Tinubu said.

“I have been giving out foodstuff and commodities in Bourdillon. If you know you don’t have enough to give, don’t attempt or publicize it,” he said.