Obaseki berates FG’s palliative policy – Blueprint Newspapers Limited

Edo state governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has said the federal government’s fuel subsidy removal policy has further improvised Nigerians and inflicted hardship and suffering on the people.

Obaseki, who stated this in Benin City, said he was also shocked about government’s inability to plan and effectively respond to the fuel subsidy removal.

The governor said he had raised the alarm following the mismanagement of the nation’s economy, noting that the country’s situation is taking a turn for the worse as a result of bad policies by the government at the centre.

According to him, “Now the subsidy is gone; the exchange rate is being aligned. The era of free money has almost come to an end.

“The consequence is that the weakest and most vulnerable in our society, unfortunately, will carry a huge part of the burden of these policies.

“I am shocked that people who campaigned around the Country, saying that they will remove subsidies, had no clear plans on what to do after subsidy removal.

“With the way they have mismanaged our national economy, we have to deal with inflation, between 20 and 25 per cent.

“It means that the people will feel more pain, especially the weak and vulnerable in the society, particularly our pensioners as whatever they get as their entitlement will do only little for them.

“But for us in Edo State, we would not abandon you. We don’t like the word palliative because it is deceitful as we would rather use the word ‘support’. We would support those who are already victims of this policy measure.”