By Florence Uwaeme
Prince Tonye Princewill, a former governorship candidate of the Labour Party in Rivers State has blamed Bola Ahmed Tinubu for being too hasty in removing the controversial fuel subsidy without a corresponding policy formulation to cushion the attendant hardship caused by such decision.
Princewill also blamed the organized labour for being too silent on the removal of the subsidy on Petrol, saying Nigerians expected more positive actions from the labour to ensure that government does everything necessary so that citizens do not suffer because of this policy.
According to him, the subsidy removal was not peculiar to Nigeria alone but the decision to do so without putting the necessary measures in place to cushion the effect on the citizens was unacceptable.
Princewill who resigned from the All Progressives Congress, APC, before the 2023 general elections said that the fraud in the subsidy regime must be investigated.
“Subsidy removal is somethinv that I don’t disagree with. I have always agued that it is not the subsidy itself, but the fraud of the subsidy.
“The issue of subsidy is deep. Countries subsidize all the time. But in this country, we have subsidy and we found out that there was a fraud in the subsidy.
“So in removing the subsidy, what about the fraud? And then look at the pain on the people. Removal of sunsidy is the removal of the fraud of subsidy.
“It (subsidy) didn’t just come by surprise. So palliative measures, counter measures needed to have been put in place.
“We have enough brains in this country to establish things that need to be put in place to make the pains of people a lot easier.
“If that has not been put in place as far as I’m concerned, there is no excuse. So it is unfortunate. Spending trillions of Naira subsidizing fuel is ‘nonsensical’, adding that “If you are not going to do that, then you have to have alternatives in place.”
He added, “If you are going to take away this money and make this saving, then you have to point out what is it you are doing with the money.
“The government has to answer those questions. If they don’t answer those questions, people will not forget.
“I think labour has been a bit too quiet. I don’t know what the negotiation is that is ongoing or not ongoing. But we (Nigerians) expect to hear from labour a lot more in this regard.”
