Edo North Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, has recounted how he organised the residents of Ogun State to protest against fuel subsidy removal during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo because he feared the proceeds would be wasted through corruption.
Oshiomhole made the disclosure during the seventh national discourse organised by The Companion, an association of Muslim men in business and the professions, at the University of Lagos, UNILAG.
The programme, with the theme ‘Nigeria’s Political Landscape and The Ethno-Religious Divides’, was led by Ibrahim Shekarau, a former governor of Kano, and had Obafemi Hazmat, the deputy governor of Lagos, as the special guest of honour.
Obasanjo was the president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, and during that time, Oshiomhole was the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress.
During the conference, Oshiomhole recounted visiting Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital and getting people like Afolabi Salisu, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and cyber security, to oppose the removal of petrol subsidy under Obasanjo.
Oshiomhole said he refused to agree with removing the subsidy because he thought the government led by Obasanjo back then didn’t have the ability to share the benefits of the subsidy fairly among all Nigerians.
He added: “When I was the NLC President, for example, I went to Abeokuta and told the people there, this subsidy Baba wants to take, he can take it, but he cannot give it back to the poor because they say it’s wasteful.
“He has the ability to take, but he doesn’t have the ability to share it because the necessary systems for sharing are not in place.
“To prove this to the people, I got the Ogun people, including Afolabi, to go on strike against Obasanjo. When we organised those protests, even the workers from the University of Lagos, UNILAG, and the students joined us.
“Only the vice-chancellor and the heads of departments acted like they were neutral, but in private, they agreed that if the fight was successful, they would also gain from it for four years.”
Fuel subsidy removal: How I made Ogun people protest against Obasanjo – Oshiomhole