Economic Hardship: Falana Slams Tinubu’s Fuel Subsidy Removal, Warns of Crisis
Chukwu Obinna 
Femi Falana
ABUJA, Nigeria – Prominent rights lawyer Femi Falana is sharply criticising President Bola Tinubu’s fuel subsidy removal, warning it is deepening poverty and destabilising Nigeria’s fragile economy.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, yesterday, Falana argued the policy, pushed by international lenders, is repeating mistakes that sparked the 2012 Occupy Nigeria protests.
“I have always opposed subsidy removal since 2012. No country has abolished subsidies completely. Even the US, UK, and France subsidise electricity and agriculture,” he said.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria accused the IMF and World Bank of prescribing “failed economic medicine” and urged Tinubu to adopt homegrown solutions.
“We cannot devalue the currency, dollarise the economy, and remove subsidies at once. It is unsustainable,” he cautioned.
Falana also condemned the “growing dollarisation” of Nigeria’s economy, warning that rejecting the naira is illegal under the Central Bank Act.
He urged the government to consider joining BRICS to reduce dollar dependency.
“Unless we strengthen the naira, an import-dependent nation cannot survive. Devaluation and dollarisation only damage the economy and worsen hardship,” he stressed.
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