Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, the Alake of Egbaland, has declared that the suffering Nigerians are enduring due to the elimination of gasoline subsidies will soon come to an end.
Gbadebo added that while he sympathized with Nigerians for the suffering brought on by the elimination of subsidies and the ensuing rise in the cost of goods and services, he is confident that these sufferings will soon come to an end.
At a news conference held at Ake Palace on Monday to celebrate the start of the 37th Lisabi Festival on March 4, the monarch provided the guarantee.
The monarch said, “Yes, the pains of the fuel subsidy removal is real, it is sharp but President Bola Tinubu has taken the right step because it is some people that are stealing this money, so it must go and I want to assure Nigerians that these pains will soon become a thing of the past, things will soon turn around for the good of the country.
“And when everything stabilises, then the government should think of putting this subsidy on food, Nigerians must not go hungry, likewise on health and education of our children.”
In order to increase food production, the monarch stated that this year’s week-long Lisabi Festival, which has as its theme “Encouraging Youth Entrepreneurship in Agric Business: Pancea To Solving Youth Employment In Egba Land,” is designed to encourage young people to pursue careers in agriculture.
The topic for this year, according to Gbadebo, was carefully chosen to address the reality of the current global economic crisis. He said that employing the nation’s hordes of young people in agriculture will significantly contribute to the fight against poverty and hunger.
The traditional ruler clarified, saying, “This year Lisabi Festival will also be used to encourage our youths to embrace agriculture which has lots of economic gains and values, in addition to promoting culture and tourism.”
“There will also be screening for diabetes while many of our people will also benefit from free eye care services. It’s a celebration that has been carefully designed to have a good impact on our people.”
