TheCable

Kola Ologbondiyan, former national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has faulted the announcement of petrol subsidy removal by President Bola Tinubu on his inauguration day.

Defending the president’s decision in a chat with TheCable, Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, had said Nigeria was in serious financial trouble, prompting the president to act quickly.

Onanuga said the president acted in the best interest of Nigerians, saying there was no provision for subsidy in the budget left behind by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Commenting on the development, Ologbondiyan said Onanuga “is absolutely wrong to have made that submission”.

He said Tinubu’s announcement was hastily done, adding that it contributed to the economic woes of Nigeria.

“How was the announcement of fuel subsidy on inauguration day in the interest of the nation? I don’t blame him because they do not understand the issues in Nigeria,” he said.

“Even if the military is going to war in an environment they are very familiar with, they must still carry out what is called recce or reconnaissance.

“A nation of over 200 million people was handed over to you. However, without looking at the books or studying the documents, you are making a policy statement that will affect the lives of the people. With the situation we are in now, how is that in our best interests?”

Ologbondiyan said there is a “sharp difference” between the situation of the country under the All Progressives Congress (APC) compared to when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was in charge.

“I have also listened to arguments of people who are saying that the damage wasn’t done today. To those people, I want to say clearly that every economy requires management and the sustenance of any economy is dependent on the wisdom of the managers,” he said.

“On account of this, I think that the double-edged sword of policies which President Tinubu deployed on May 29 has brought us to where we are. No one ever said Nigeria didn’t have issues in the past. What is important now is the management which the president will bring in to manage the situation or the policy direction of his government.

“I don’t agree with those saying that because it was bad in the past, it can’t be improved upon by the present administration. That was what they promised to do during the campaigns.”