Subsidy removal: Our pains are temporary – FG tells Nigerians

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, reassured Nigerians that the current pains caused by the fuel subsidy removal would only be temporary.

He emphasized that the ultimate benefits of this removal would be experienced by the average citizen.

Idris expressed regret that the subsidy regime had previously only benefitted a few individuals, who were enjoying the country’s common wealth at the expense of the majority.

“So, President Bola Tinubu said he would not be part of that. He stands with the majority of Nigerians.

“Although the removal will be painful at the beginning, it will be better for all of us at the end,” he said.

The minister explained: “Fuel subsidy removal is like the pregnant woman due for delivery and in labour; when she is in labour pains, she will feel and prefer she never had the opportunity to bear a child.

“However, after the child is delivered, then the woman will hold her baby, smile and becomes the happiest woman in the world.

“I think, that analogy can be applied to this issue of fuel subsidy removal.

“So, the pains will be temporary, but at the end, we will be better for it; that is what President Bola Tinubu believes in, and that is what he is preaching”.

The Minister also recalled that in the early months of Tinubu’s administration, funds were allocated to the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to provide relief measures and ease the impact of the subsidy removal.