Nigerians Must Make Sacrifice For Fuel Subsidy Removal, Benefits Will Come Later – Omotayo

The Director General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), Ayo Omotayo, has urged Nigerians to endure the hardship brought by fuel subsidy removal, arguing that the benefits would come in the long run.

Omotayo argued that the current hardships are temporary and that the country would reap the rewards of the fuel subsidy removal policy initiated by President Bola Tinubu in the medium and long term.

Naija News reports the NIPPS boss made the submission on Tuesday during an interview appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.

He called on Nigerians to adjust their spending to accommodate the current economic hardships brought about by the government policy.

“Well, most of the benefits will be in the medium and long term. In the short term, the government has tried to put out palliatives so that those who are suffering – the poor man on the street – from the effect of fuel subsidy would be able to make some adjustments. We all need to make some adjustments to our spending.

“The gains at this time are very little, but then in the long run, we will make up for whatever sacrifices we have made today as Nigerians,” Omotayo said.

Timely Step

Despite the sudden removal of the fuel subsidy by the government of President Tinubu and the attendant economic hardship it has brought along, the NIPPS boss said the move was necessary and timely to save the country from economic collapse.

He argued that no reform is easy as it always involves temporary sacrifices to birth a great and better future.

“So for us at the National Institute, it was a very timely step that Mr President took, and it has come a long way in saving Nigeria.

“We were on the verge of collapse with subsidies. The subsidies we were paying were just totally unimaginable, and of course, we were subsidizing fuel as far as Burkina Faso, as far as Sierra Leone in some instances. So a government that wants to succeed must take very tough decisions. For us at the National Institute, we commend the President for the removal of fuel subsidy, even though the Nigerian politic may feel it is harsh, that we needed some more time,” Omotayo submitted.