Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has publicly challenged the tangible impact of President Bola Tinubu’s fuel subsidy removal, warning that everyday citizens are bearing the brunt of the hardship without seeing any promised benefits.

Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Falana criticized the continuous calls for public patience while economic conditions worsen.

“If you say we are making more money, where are the benefits? It’s a fallacy being told to wait and wait and wait. People are dying.”

Key Highlights from Falana’s Statement:

• Demand for Transparency across All Tiers: Falana urged Nigerians to hold federal, state, and local governments accountable for how the windfall from subsidy removal is being allocated, noting that revenue allocations have increased on paper without visible development.
• Neglected Infrastructure: He highlighted that critical infrastructure remains ignored despite increased revenues. Using an example from Ekiti State, he noted that a local government receiving over ₦5.4 billion in allocations between January and May could not fix a crucial road requiring under ₦500 million.
• Debt Servicing Concerns: Falana pointed out that while approximately $10 billion spent annually on fuel imports ought to have been saved, a large portion of the government’s additional revenue is still going toward debt servicing rather than public relief.
• Warning Against a New “Subsidy Scam”: He warned authorities against repeating past financial mismanagement, insisting that Nigerians deserve concrete proof of how policy changes are directly improving lives.