Former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has faulted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidy, describing it as a good reform poorly executed, which has deepened poverty and inflation in Nigeria.
Speaking on Monday during a panel session at the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference in Enugu, Ezekwesili said defending the current administration had become a “Herculean task” due to its “wrong-headed policies.”
“You can have the right policies, but if you implement them the wrong way, there will be problems,” she stressed. “The subsidy removal was not prepared for. It was a good reform done the wrong way. Inflation is punishing the populace, and the poor have nowhere to run.”
She faulted President Tinubu’s abrupt declaration of “subsidy is gone,” noting that the decision threw millions of Nigerians into economic hardship. “Inflation hits the poor so hard. This was a reform done wrongly,” she insisted.
Ezekwesili further challenged lawyers and the judiciary to resist prebendal politics and refuse to endorse practices that enrich political elites at the expense of ordinary Nigerians.
“The idea that politics is the pathway to wealth is an anomaly,” she said. “We have 133 million Nigerians living in poverty, yet the political class continues to fail them. The legal profession must not reward prebendalism.”
In his keynote address, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji Ojo, stressed the need for Nigeria to prioritize research and development (R&D) to drive sustainable growth.
“Four of the five biggest economies in the world are also the highest spenders on R&D,” he said. “In 2022, Nigeria spent 96.3 per cent of its revenue on debt servicing, leaving little for capital projects. We promoted consumption over investment and production, but we are working to correct that.”
The minister also urged lawyers to review outdated laws guiding the fire service and correctional service, while emphasizing the need to channel resources into infrastructure and innovation.
Another panelist, George Etomi, raised concerns about the erosion of judicial independence. “Our judiciary was more independent under the military,” he lamented. “Democracy is being abused today. We must protect the judiciary.”
Participants at the conference also voiced dissatisfaction with the Tinubu administration’s economic direction. When asked if the country was on the right track, the majority answered “no.” Similarly, when questioned whether their hope had been renewed under the “Renewed Hope Agenda,” the resounding response was again “no.”
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