Ahead of the 2023 General elections, Presidential candidate of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has warned that no amount of protests from citizens would stop his administration from removing fuel subsidy if elected.
The former Lagos State Governor frowns at a situation whereby the Federal Government would be subsidising fuel consumption in neighbouring Cameroon, Niger, and Benin Republic.
In a statement by Tunde Rahman from Tinubu’s Media Office, after a business luncheon with business owners entitled: “Business Forward” in Lagos, the APC candidate promised to turn Nigeria’s present challenges into opportunities for growth and development.
He also promised to work towards creating a better security in the country to give them an enabling environment to do their businesses.
The APC candidate said since it was the responsibility of government to secure lives and properties of citizens, his administration, if elected, would make that its priority, the same way he did as Lagos State governor.
Addressing the issue of fuel subsidy and what he intends to do as president, he promised to take bold decisions that would turn the economy around and one of such will be a firm decision on fuel subsidy, stressing that Nigeria will not continue to subsidise fuel consumption in neighbouring countries.
“How can we be subsidising fuel consumption of Cameroon, of Niger, of Benin Republic. No matter how long you protest, we are going to remove subsidy,” he emphatically stated.
On Security he said, “first, the primary responsibility of government is to protect the lives, properties, and prosperity of its citizens. As Governor of Lagos, fixing the difficult security situation I inherited was the first item on my list.
“Only after we secured the state and changed its reputation for the better, could we embark on the economic reforms that have ultimately produced the vibrant and active megacity of today.
“I am committed to securing Nigerians from violence and the fear of such violence. Terror, kidnapping and banditry have no place in the society I envision. Upon entering office, we will move to implement several measures:
“We will increase the numbers of our military and non-military security forces. Specialist anti-terrorist battalions with integrated special forces units shall also be established.
“Our Critical National Infrastructure Protection Plan will deploy aerial and ground surveillance technology to surveil the most dangerous areas and secure our country’s vital national infrastructure and installations.
“We shall acquire and upgrade the tactical communications and mobility of our troops and security personnel. We must also devote greater attention to the care and welfare of our military and security forces who put themselves in harm’s way to keep us safe.
