President Bola Tinubu has said some of his associates and friends thought he was joking when he declared that the age-long subsidy era was gone.
Tinubu disclosed this during an interactive session with Nigerians resident in France and neighbouring European countries on the sidelines of the New Global Financing Pact Summit at the French capital, Paris.
He said he assembled his friends to put his plans and speeches together but noticed that they had left the issue of subsidy removal out. He however said he was determined to end the regime because it stunted the growth of the nation.
The President said: “Some countries were bleeding us. Courage was missing. Sometimes I became an advocate for it. Remove this thing but God gave me the opportunity when I danced around, strategised with my team, we won the Presidency and the day I was declared the winner I fell almost sick with joy.
“The few friends visited me rejoicing, so I asked the question, you asked me to bring this trophy, this victory what do you do with it?
“I brought it. I won. We must achieve it. We must change Nigeria with it and then Wale Edun and co, we started debating, putting my speech together without the question of subsidy. I got to the podium, I was possessed with courage and I said subsidy is gone.
“They thought it was a joke of the century until I called NNPC. We are tired of feedings smugglers, making few people rich, and subsidizing the next-door neighbor.
“I met with the President of the Benin Republic today, everybody is equal now, we are friends. We are conjoined twins joined by the hips, how we will separate each other is with this fuel subsidy. Let us see whether we will survive or not but we are going to survive you.”
