If Buhari had scrapped fuel subsidy, Tinubu wouldn’t be president – Garba Shehu

The incumbent President, Bola Tinubu, would not have won if the immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari, had eliminated the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, according to Garba Shehu, a Senior Special Assistant to Buhari.

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Shehu noted that tensions were high and that Buhari did not want to “add fuel to the fire” in a statement he posted on his official Twitter account, @garbashehu, titled “Why did it take the new Tinubu/Shettima presidency weeks to remove the petrol subsidy when Buhari didn’t do so for years.”

Shehu continued by pointing out that the APC needed to win the election, therefore Buhari was unable to eliminate the subsidy in the last weeks of his presidency after already eliminating the diesel subsidy and the subsidies for Christian and Hajj pilgrims, among other subsidies.

“So far I have refrained from responding these repeated inquiries on the elimination of subsidies on Premium Motor Spirit, or PMS, in Nigeria as well as those resulting from the dual rates of the Naira in the Central Bank and the parallel market: Why did Buhari “fail” to do these?” says part of Shehu’s statement.

“First off, in my opinion, the Party, the All Progressives Congress, is best prepared to respond to this question rather than the previous President. If we fail to do this, we are compelled to declare what is to follow.
Second, we are aware that there is a “New Sheriff in Town” with the Tinubu/Shettima presidency currently in place.

“We don’t want to divert them from the difficult tasks that they and the country must do. Furthermore, we have no desire to diminish their importance in any manner.

“The Tinubu/Shettima administration has done overwhelmingly well in terms of the timeliness of the choices to abolish gasoline subsidies and unify the currency. More importantly, they have done a masterful job of handling the decisions’ fallout by averting any crises.

“The President did not have sole authority to decide whether to eliminate subsidies, as was the case in our instance and, in our opinion, in all circumstances. The Buhari government had been on this course since its inception in 2015, thus it’s crucial to remind ourselves of this and all those who have conveniently forgotten.

“Removing Naira and PMS subsidies was signalled and put on hold. Take the Petroleum Industry Act as an illustration. The crucial choice was postponed until later. It could not have happened now because no respectable leader would have fueled the fire at a time when nationwide tensions were already high.

“In the opinion of many—including those in the security circles—only a new administration with goodwill that fills a warehouse can do this, and now the Tinubu administration shows its wit and tenacity.

Last but not least, we need to be politically honest with ourselves. Due to the APC’s need to win an election, the Buhari administration was unable to continue in its last days.

“And that would have been the case with any political party running for re-election with a new leader at the helm.

“Poll after poll revealed that if the decision envisioned under the new Petroleum Industry Act was implemented, the party would have been removed from office.

A capable leader like the one we already have in place is best positioned to move on now that the election is over. After these significant economic and financial decisions, we have complete faith that the new administration will lead the country and all of its people towards a stable future.