Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Engineer Babachir Lawal, has claimed that Nigeria collapsed after the swearing of President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023.
Lawal said the shocking announcement of fuel subsidy removal by Tinubu on the day of the inauguration plunged the country into economic malady, stating that the policy was launched before the cabinet was assembled.
Discussing the state of the nation on Trust TV’s Daily Politics, Lawal said the announcement of fuel subsidy removal led to an increase in transportation which is the engine of business for both the rich and common man in Nigeria.
He described the action taken on May 29 as ‘thoughtless’, noting that the non-existence of the cabinet and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to address the consequences of such a harsh policy was the undoing of Tinubu, leading to a total collapse of the country.
According to Lawal; “I can only repeat what I said before. I’ve spoken on this before. First of all, I did say one time you came into government on the day you were inaugurated. After swearing in, you embark on the first major policies that are very impactful on the lives of the society. It is like a cowboy, or macho man removing subsidy.
“At that time, he didn’t have a Minister of Planning, who should plan the outcome, and the consequences to take care of. You don’t have a Minister of Finance who will calculate the impact on this society. You did not even have the federal executive council that will approve that, you have nothing. As at that time, nobody to advise, nobody to break out ‘what ifs’”.
He further stated thus; “So immediately after that inauguration, Nigeria collapsed. It is like a balloon. Nigeria fell. It deflated completely. Immediately transportation (fare) tripled.”
Talking from his personal experience as a farmer, Lawal said; “That week! I used to buy animal feed for my cows from Zaria. I used to pay N270,000 per truck. Immediately that week, I couldn’t buy anymore, because transportation alone was going to cost me N1 million.
“I couldn’t afford it because the cost of fuel just jumped up. Everything. Last week I bought some equipment for my farm. I wanted to transport it from Kano, they were asking me to pay N3 million to transport three tractors and only to be put in a trailer. One trailer carrying three tractors! Everything has gone up. So that policy alone crashed everything.”
