Vice President Kashim Shettima has said President Bola Tinubu chose to keep his plan to remove fuel subsidy confidential before taking office to avoid opposition that could have influenced the decision.
Shettima spoke on Friday when state governors visited the President in Lagos during the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations and activities marking the administration’s third anniversary.
According to the Vice President, the subsidy removal policy was carefully considered long before Tinubu assumed office and was deliberately omitted from his inauguration speech.
“Your Excellency, the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy, you kept it a top secret; it wasn’t part of your speech,” Shettima said.
“It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. You had made that decision and kept it close to your heart because you believed if you had incorporated it into your speech, some people would try to persuade you not to do so.”
Shettima praised the President’s resolve, describing the move as evidence of bold leadership and a readiness to take difficult decisions in the national interest.
He also defended the government’s economic policies, arguing that Tinubu inherited longstanding structural challenges that required tough reforms rather than temporary solutions.
“You did not come to power at the season of ease. You came at a time when the house required more than a painter. It required a builder with the courage to examine the foundation. You inherited a nation standing before difficult questions, a nation trapped between the comfort of old illusions and the necessity of a new beginning. In that defining hour, you choose not to postpone the surgery. You choose not to massage the wound.
“You choose to confront the contradictions that have held this country hostage for 50 years. That, Mr President, is the miracle of your courage. What you have done is not simply to administer a government. You have begun the difficult work of re-engineering a nation. It’s not a banquet. It is a battlefield. It is not a picnic for the pain-hearted. It is a covenant with the future.”
The Vice President maintained that the administration’s reforms were aimed at laying a stronger foundation for future growth despite the short-term difficulties experienced by many Nigerians.
President Tinubu had earlier defended the subsidy removal policy, saying it prevented the country from sliding into a severe financial crisis and was beginning to deliver benefits across the federation.
Also at the gathering, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, who chairs the Progressive Governors’ Forum, reportedly commended the President’s stewardship, saying his leadership had helped stabilise the country and avert economic collapse.
