Former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Prince Bola Ajibola has condemned the removal of subsidy on petrol by President Goodluck Jonathan, describing it as a time bomb that might explode anytime.
Speaking yesterday at his Asero residence in Abeokuta, Ajibola warned that the sudden removal of the subsidy showed that President Jonathan had bad advisers.
Ajibola called on Jonathan to revert to the old price not only in the interest of the suffering masses, but to ensure political stability.
He said: “With all these socio-political and ethno-religious equations prevailing at the present time in the country, Mr. President, had now added a new dimension of economic nature to them by this removal of the so called oil subsidy just at the end of
the year while everybody is wishing everybody a happy and prosperous New Year.”
“I think that it is not politically expedient to take all these problems together at the same time. You (President) have been badly advised having regard to the fact that both in the North and South about 73 per cent of the population living in this country are poor and the removal of the oil subsidy will patently and immediately increase their sufferings in real terms”.
“So why should anybody in his or her own right senses advise you to ignite this time bomb by blowing your own time rocket all at the same time, left, right and centre. This is the hour that our President needs a good and sound advice in order to run the affairs of this nation rightly.
But unfortunately I strongly believe that those who are close to him are misguiding him because certain facts are absolutely patent which ought to guide him in his deliberations and lines of action which is being ignored. In view of the present situation, what ought to have been done” should be a matter of gradual reduction and not a removal at once”.
He argued that if even the Federal government had genuine reason to increase pump price, the timing was wrong and blamed Jonathan advisers for the unpopular decision, lamenting that the problems confronting the country had been heightened by the activities of the Boko-Haram sect.
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