Tinubu kept subsidy removal secret to avoid pushback — Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima has revealed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu deliberately kept his decision to remove petrol subsidy confidential to prevent opposition before its implementation.

Shettima made the disclosure on Friday during a visit by state governors to the President’s Lagos residence as part of Eid-el-Kabir celebrations and activities marking the administration’s third anniversary.

According to him, the subsidy removal was intentionally excluded from Tinubu’s inaugural speech despite being a well-considered policy decision.

“You kept it a top secret; it wasn’t part of your speech,” Shettima said, adding that the president feared that including it would have opened the door for attempts to dissuade him.

He described the move as a demonstration of bold leadership and foresight, noting that the administration inherited a fragile economic structure that required decisive reforms.

“Shettima said the country needed more than cosmetic fixes, likening the situation to a building requiring reconstruction rather than repainting.

He argued that Tinubu chose to confront long-standing structural issues rather than delay difficult decisions, describing the reform process as necessary for national recovery.

Also speaking, Tinubu defended the subsidy removal policy, saying it helped avert a looming fiscal crisis and has begun to yield benefits for states and citizens.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum and Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, said governors had rated the President’s performance at 100 per cent, crediting him with steering the country away from economic collapse toward stability.