Femi Falana, SAN, on Friday, blamed the “irresponsibility” of the ruling class for the hardships brought on by the alleged fraud by beneficiaries of the fuel subsidy regime and failed promises to reform the oil sector.
There is, therefore, a need for the Federal Government to act fast to alleviate the citizens’ sufferings, the human rights lawyer noted during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“The government will have to move speedily to address the suffering of the people, undeserved pains inflicted on the people, because of the irresponsibility of the Nigerian ruling class,” he said.
“Whereas Gen Muhammadu Buhari had promised in 2015, ‘When I get to power, I am going to fix all the refineries.’”
President Bola Tinubu, in his inaugural speech on May 29, declared that “fuel subsidy is gone”, a move that has generated mixed reactions, given the stark hike in fuel costs nationwide.
According to Falana, what is important in the implementation of government policies is to look at the impact on the people.
“Now that it’s clear that those who initially applauded the removal of fuel subsidy are beginning to appreciate the enormity of the crisis that it has caused for the country are now mounting pressure on the government to fast-track the process of cushioning the effects of the removal,” he said.
“No doubt there was a lot of fraud that characterised the management of fuel subsidy and the government will have to investigate that.”