According to Cheta Nwanze, a researcher, data analyst, and partner at SBM Intelligence, the removal of fuel subsidies was the right and necessary decision, but the manner of its implementation was totally wrong.
Speaking on the Newscentral programme, Jasiri, Nwanze said that the shock therapy the president tried to achieve by announcing the removal of subsidies on the day of his inauguration wasn’t achievable, as it has proven over the decades in different countries.
“Petrol subsidy removal policy is something that I had advocated for before it happened, and I’m still convinced that it was the right policy because we were going to run out of money to subsidise petrol, but how it was implemented has set us back.”
He emphasised that any drastic policy, such as the sudden announcement of subsidy removal, should have been well thought out and accompanied by palliatives.
“When you are doing something harsh, you need to have, on the other hand, something like palliatives to cushion the effects, especially given that we all know that the average Nigerian is utterly dependent on petrol.”
He said SBM Intelligence created the “Jollof Index” to illustrate nationwide inflation and the current economic climate for families.
“When we started jollof index, it cost the average family of five, which at the time was the average Nigerian family it cost about N4000; then to make a plate of Jollof; now it’s just over N21000, which is a heck of an increase in eight years so we have to ask how many people’s salaries have gone up by a factor of six in those eight years.”
“What it means effectively is that Nigerians are getting poorer because the most basic thing that everybody must do is eat, and if it’s costing more, we had a report back in 2018 that showed that 58 per cent of Nigerians thereabouts spent almost 90 per cent of their income on food.” He added.
