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Femi Falana, Human rights lawyer says no nation has ever fully abolished subsidies
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He alleges Tinubu acted on pressure from global financial institutions
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He warned Nigerians bear brunt while Western nations keep subsidising essentials
Femi Falana, Senior Advocate of Nigeria has accused the IMF, World Bank, and President Bola Tinubu’s administration of being responsible for the fuel subsidy removal in Nigeria, warning that the move has worsened hardship for millions of citizens.
Speaking during an interview on Sunday Politics, a Channels Television programme, the human rights lawyer stated that no country in the world has completely abolished subsidies.
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He cited examples of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and other advanced economies where governments still subsidise electricity, agriculture, and other critical sectors.
Mr Falana argued that the Nigerian Government acted under the directives of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to withdraw all subsidies, describing the move as an external imposition rather than a domestic reform agenda.
According to him: “There’s no way you can remove subsidy completely. No country in the entire world has abolished subsidies completely. Even leading Western countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, France and others subsidise electricity, agriculture, and many aspects of the lives of their people.
READ ALSO: Falana Urges FG, EFCC to Channel ₦32.7bn Loot to Poverty Alleviation
So, when the Nigerian Government said it was removing subsidies, as a matter of fact, if I must say this, it was the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, IMF, that insisted that the government must remove all subsidies.”
The remarks add fresh weight to growing criticisms of the Tinubu administration’s handling of subsidy removal, with civil society groups and opposition figures questioning both its execution and transparency.
