Falana: World Bank, IMF pushed Nigeria to remove subsidy

Falana

Femi Falana, human rights lawyer and senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), says the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) pushed the federal government to remove the petrol subsidies.

Speaking on ‘Sunday Politics’, a Channels Television programme, Falana said no country in the world has completely scrapped subsidies.

“There’s no way you can remove subsidies completely; no country in the entire world has abolished subsidies completely,” he said.

“Even leading Western countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, France and others subsidise electricity, agriculture and many aspects of people’s lives.”

Falana said the removal of the petrol subsidy in Nigeria was not a domestic policy choice but a condition imposed by international financial institutions.

“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,” he added. President Bola Tinubu announced the end of the petrol subsidy on 29 May 2023 during his inauguration.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also announced the unification of all segments of the foreign exchange market. Thecable