Ex-Ekiti Governor Kayode Fayemi faults Jonathan for failing to remove fuel subsidy, says Tinubu showed courage by ending it from day one.
Kayode Fayemi fuel subsidy remarks — Former Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, has faulted former President Goodluck Jonathan for lacking the courage to implement the removal of fuel subsidy during his administration, despite having broad stakeholder support.
Also read: Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, Goodluck Jonathan, 2027 Presidency Rumour Dismissed
Fayemi made the remarks on Tuesday at the Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference held in Abuja, where he spoke on Nigeria’s economic reforms, governance values, and the importance of courage in leadership.
The former minister said that contrary to popular belief, many governors under Jonathan’s administration — including himself — supported the removal of fuel subsidy in 2012, even though the then-opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) rejected the move for political reasons.
“When we’re talking about 2012 Occupy Nigeria and the opposition to President Jonathan, the truth of the matter was that the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, of which I was a member, were the major advocates for subsidy removal,” Fayemi said.
“Yes, my party, the Action Congress of Nigeria at the time, did not support subsidy removal. In fact, myself and Oshiomhole were active promoters of it in all the town hall meetings that were held at the time.”
Fayemi criticised Jonathan for yielding to political pressure instead of standing firm on what he described as an “economically sound policy.”
“When people want to blame the opposition for not lining up behind President Jonathan, there’s something to be said for President Jonathan lacking the conviction to go ahead and do what he believed in,” he added.
Drawing a comparison, Fayemi praised President Bola Tinubu for demonstrating firm political will by ending the fuel subsidy from his first day in office, despite the backlash that followed.
“What did President Tinubu do? He came in and said subsidy is gone from day one. He could have opted out of it when the pressure started mounting in the first month and prices began to rise. But he stayed on course — and that is the courage we must commend him for,” Fayemi said.
He, however, cautioned that beyond policy courage, managing the aftermath of such bold economic reforms is critical to ensuring that citizens do not suffer unduly.
“The devil is always in the detail. What comes after is how you manage it so that the population does not feel a sense of loss, as they are feeling at this particular point in time,” he warned.
Fayemi also used the forum to challenge Nigerian youths to take initiative and participate in nation-building rather than waiting to be invited.
“Young people should not wait to be invited. Nobody invited me in; it was my belief that a better Nigeria is possible that drew me into activism from academia, and from activism into politics,” he said.
Also read: Goodluck Jonathan laments abandoned projects in Bayelsa
He emphasised that true leadership should be rooted in integrity, mentorship, and delayed gratification, not personal ambition or material gain.
