27th January, 2012
The Federal Government has been urged to ensure that all the palliatives needed to cushion the pains of fuel subsidy removal on ordinary Nigerians are fully implemented.
Senator Adekunle Muse who represented Lagos Central Senatorial District in the 6th Senate said this in an interview with Political Platform on the crisis that trailed the controversial removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government recently.
“Primarily, the objective of governance in any polity is the welfare of its people. Once you take away the interest of the people from governance, it becomes something else. And I’m positive that the Senate under its President, David Mark, will be committed to working with the executive to ensure that Nigerians, especially the masses, enjoy the fruits of the current experiment,” Muse said.
Muse said the government must acknowledge the fact that no matter how laudable it considers the subsidy removal, it has come with agonies on the populace especially in the area of as inflation. This is why President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration must find ways to ensure that the development does not totally wreck the economies of individual families in the country.
“We have been hearing of increase in the prices of foodstuffs and other consumables arising from an automatic increase in the costs of transportation within the country because of the subsidy matter. This accounts for why the government must not wait any further to fulfil all the promises it made as regards cushioning the effects of the policy,” he added.
To complement such efforts, the senator advised that government must take deliberate and urgent steps to cut wastages in its spending.
“We, as leaders at every level and arm of government, must urgently eschew our extravagant lifestyles. We must begin a new regime of prudence if we are genuinely committed to building a better Nigeria,” Muse said