Garba Shehu, who was the media aide to former President Muhammadu Buhari, has dismissed claims that Buhari removed fuel subsidy just to make life hard for President Bola Tinubu’s new government. He spoke to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, July 1, to clear the air about the issue.

Some Nigerians believe that Buhari purposely delayed removing the fuel subsidy until the very end of his time in office in 2023. They say he waited so that Tinubu would have no choice but to deal with the backlash. Tinubu had officially declared in his first speech as President that the subsidy was gone, which led to immediate effects across the country.

After the announcement, fuel prices rose quickly, which made transportation more expensive. This also caused a rise in food prices and put pressure on many families. Because of these effects, some people felt that Buhari had done it on purpose to damage Tinubu’s image.

However, Garba Shehu said that these ideas are completely wrong. According to him, the decision to remove the fuel subsidy was not taken to create problems for Tinubu or his administration. He explained that the move was necessary and had nothing to do with politics or trying to make the new government unpopular.

Shehu wants Nigerians to understand that the removal of the fuel subsidy was part of a policy decision meant to help the country’s economy, not a plot to turn people against the current president.