President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said that the removal of subsidy is a vital decision needed to improve the country’s economy.

President Tinubu said this during an interactive session with some royal fathers under the aegis of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (NCTRN) at the Aso Villa on Friday June 9, 2023.

The president stated that the federal government can no longer continue to feed the economy of Nigeria’s neighbours with subsidised petrol which is usually smuggled out of the country on large scale.

According to a statement by State House Director of Information, Abiodun Oladunjoye, the president explained to the royal fathers his decisions on fuel subsidy, improving security, creating jobs, and sustaining the environment as well as the forthcoming election of principal officers of the 10th National Assembly.

‘‘I am grateful that you are paying attention to what I have been doing. You have paid attention to the subsidy removal. Why should we in good heart and sense, feed smugglers and be Father Christmas to neighbouring countries, even though they say not every day is Christmas?

‘‘The elephant that was going to bring Nigeria to its knees is the subsidy. A country that cannot pay salaries and we say we have the potential to encourage ourselves. I think we did the right thing,’’ he said.

President Tinubu promised that his administration would remove any obstacles preventing the Nigerian people from progressing while noting concerns about the need for vital infrastructure in various regions of the nation.

‘The lamentations about the capital projects, where is the money going to come from if we don’t protect our resources and our boundaries?

‘‘You cannot have development without capital projects.

“Nigeria must survive. Nigeria must develop. Nigeria must make progress,’’ he said.

Some of the monarchs voiced their support for the elimination of the subsidy regime while Tinubu urged them to convince Nigerians to have faith in the administration.

He assured the royal fathers that the price of petrol will eventually decline with time.

President Tinubu also promised the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria that every region will get what is due while pledging to deal with youth unemployment which is projected to rise to 40.6%, according to KPMG.

“We are going to tackle youth unemployment. It is only when we have prosperity for the country that we can create jobs that will employ our youths,” the president said.

On security, the president vows to put the needed structures in place until Nigerians “goes to sleep with their two eyes closed.’’