Amaechi United that it was unavoidable for any president not to remove the fuel subsidy but stressed that he would have done it differently. He also emphasised the need for job creation and social housing as alternatives to cushion the effect.
How Amaechi lost to Tinubu
Legit.ng recall that Amaechi contested for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2022 but lost to President Tinubu. The former minister made the comment while speaking on the second day of the democracy conference held in Abuja on Tuesday, January 28.
The former minister’s comment reads in part:
“There is nobody that would have become president that would not have removed the subsidy. What I don’t know is what time was appropriate for the removal. How prepared was the Tinubu government when he announced the removal?”
The former Rivers governor disclosed that his wife and children had once asked him what he would have done differently if he were the president, and he responded that he would not have removed the subsidy without social housing. He noted that the money saved from subsidy removal and naira devaluation would be used to build 200,000 and 300,000 houses.
Amaechi disclosed why he would do better than Tinubu
Amaechi expressed confidence that his policy would not only address the housing deficit but would have create jobs in several sectors.
He said by building 200,000 and 300,000 houses across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), over 300,000 jobs would have been created for bricklayers, plumbers and carpenters. He noted that this is the way to put money in the hands of the people.
The former governor also lamented that there was a growing gap between the poor and the rich in Nigeria. He maintained that the critical challenge is the absence of the functional middle class.
Amaechi revealed when middle-class last existed
He stressed that the last time the middle class existed in Nigeria was during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He praised Obasanjo for creating jobs. He lamented that in current Nigeria, “it’s either you are rich or you are poor.”
Amaechi further stressed the need to implement social investment in agriculture and housing alongside the subsidy removal, saying it would make people not feel the impact of the economic challenges.
He argued that the government must ensure that the funds saved from the subsidy removal should be tangible projects that would have a direct impact on the people and provide economic opportunities for the country.
Amaechi’s ally said ex-minister not dumping APC
Legit.ng earlier reported that Rotimi Amaechi’s ally, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has dismissed the report that the former minister of transportation was nursing the move of rejoining the PDP.
According to Eze, Amaechi remained a committed member of the APC, despite his recent comment against the ruling party.
Eze, a chieftain of the APC, maintained that the claim on social media that the former Rivers governor was nursing to join the PDP was total fake news.
