Human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has urged President Bola Tinubu to review the fuel subsidy removal.
He recently revealed that a review will address the abject poverty currently suffered by most Nigerians.
Speaking on a monitored programme on Channels Television, Falana said that “to eradicate poverty, you must begin to apply all the welfare laws in the country.”
According to him, the people cannot even cannot afford three square meals a day anymore, therefore the president must do something to heed the cry of Nigerians.
“Most Nigerians cannot afford three square meals a day. The World Bank can complain and behave like Pontius Pilate, without any research or consultation, insisting that fuel subsidy, electricity subsidy, and others be removed,” he said.
Falana maintained that Nigerians deserve better healthcare, education, and a better life, stressing that the people should not have to plead for better governance.
He concluded by attributing the rising poverty to the federal government’s terrible policies.
“What we are saying is that there are laws; we are not pleading with the government, we are talking about the legal right of our people to access health and education and live a better life in the country.
As we are mounting pressure on the federal government, we also must mount pressure on the state government, and it shows that we can mount pressure on the local government very soon, by the time we compel the federal government to comply with the court judgement.
Because of the neoliberal policy of the government, poverty is on the ascendancy, which will require a review by the federal government of these policies. You cannot be addressing income inequality in the country while you are handing over the resources of the country to a few people in what they call privatisation.
The IMF policy should be reviewed; we are expanding income disparity in society. We must pay attention to the state government and the local government,” he added.
