A Nigerian actor and comedian, Seyi Law, has again openly praised President Bola Tinubu for taking the bold step of removing the fuel subsidy.
However, he acknowledges that the decision has led to hardship for many Nigerians.
Seyi Law insisted that it is a necessary measure that would ultimately benefit the nation in the long run.
In his remarks, the comedian argued that the fuel subsidy should have been removed much earlier.
Also, he pointed to 2012 during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
At that time, there were widespread protests, led in part by the opposition party, which Tinubu was associated with.
Seyi Law believes that had the subsidy been scrapped back then, Nigerians would have reeled out of the pain by now.
“Fuel subsidy should have been removed long ago,” he stated.
“If it had been removed in 2012, we would have experienced the pain back then and by now, we would have started healing from it. We would have been in a better economic position today.”
He also recalled being the only celebrity at the time who took to the stage to speak out against the anti-subsidy movement.
However, he referenced a warning from the then Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
She had cautioned that Nigeria was borrowing to pay salaries because the country could no longer afford the financial burden of the fuel subsidy.
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Seyi Law pointed out that the warning went largely unheeded at the time.
According to him, this has led to the current challenges.