The Nigerian Bar Association, Lagos State Chapter, has advised President Bola Tinubu to ensure transparency in the way savings from the subsidy removal is spent.
It said the funds must be utilised to provide succor for people given the hardship the removal had inflicted on the masses.
In an interview with Saturday PUNCH, the branch chairman of the NBA in Lagos, Ikechukwu Uwanna, called on the President to invest the funds on infrastructural and human capital development.
He stated, “The President’s emphasis right now should be to ensure that there is peace, progress, prosperity, justice, and rule of law in the land. I agree that we need to remove subsidy but I think the problem with subsidy removal is the way and manner it was addressed. Also, we all agree there is criminality around the subsidy as we had it.
“What I think the President should do is to look at the manner it was removed and ensure there is proper cushioning, and the money being saved should be used for economic development and prosperity. The President should also ensure that there is transparency so that Nigerians will see the justification for paying N500 per litre of petrol. If people are paying such an amount, they should at least see the development it is being used for.”
He highlighted areas that need urgent intervention to include infrastructural and human capital development, healthcare, education, especially prevention of strike in higher institutions and the judiciary. “Most of our courts do not have facilities for virtual hearings, most don’t have generators and infrastructure, and they don’t have books that will enable the judges to read and improve their judgment,” he added.
He tasked the President to ensure that those who would be appointed into his cabinet would be competent and credible people who have capacity to deliver his mandate. He also sought a genuine fight against corruption, saying Nigeria’s ranking in corruption, based on Transparency International index, was not acceptable.
