Osun: School Owner Laments Drop In Pupil Enrollment Over Subsidy Removal

A proprietor of a private school in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, Alhaji Moshood Tiwadayo has said the hike in petroleum products has caused a drop in the enrolment of pupils in his school.

Speaking with LEADERSHIP in an interview, Alhaji Tiwadayo noted that the little addition to students’ transport fare has caused sharp drop in their daily attendance.

The educationist, who is in support of the subsidy removal because of its adverse effects on the nation’s economy, however pleaded with government to fashion out palliative measures that would serve as relief to the general public.

In another interraction with the paper, Mrs Adunola Alabi who is also a resident of the town, expressed pessimism on the possibility of palliatives that would spread among the masses, adding that the past palliative measures are designed to favour public servants at the expense of other members of the public.

President Bola Tinubu had in his May 29 inauguration speech declared that subsidy has “gone”, adding that the N195 per litre for PMS was no longer sustainable.

Meanwhile, the federal government, on April 5, 2023, announced that it secured the sum of $800 million from the World Bank as part of its post-subsidy palliatives scheme.

The FG in a statement by minister of finance, Zainab Ahmed, said the fund would be disbursed to the 10 million households (about 50 million Nigerians) who are considered to be most vulnerable.