Nigeria’s new president scraps the fuel subsidy
The move is necessary but confusion reigns
Normally when presidents ad-lib in an inauguration speech it is to stress their folksy charm. But the off-script remarks of Nigeria’s new president, Bola Tinubu, sent his compatriots rushing to the petrol stations. “Fuel subsidy is gone,” he declared during his swearing-in on May 29th in Abuja, the capital. Before he had even finished his address, queues began to stretch at the pumps, as drivers raced to nab a last cheap drop of fuel.
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This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Bye-bye to bungs”
From the June 10th 2023 edition
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