Sowore made the allegation on Tuesday while appearing as a guest on Arise Television’s Morning Show, where he also claimed that the government was subsidising the naira by quietly maintaining its value at a particular exchange rate against the dollar.
According to the human rights activist, the impact of subsidy removal has contributed to the decline in the value of the naira and worsening economic hardship in the country.
“In the first place, they are still paying subsidies. They just changed the name of what they call it.
“They are subsidizing not only petrol because they don’t have enough. They’re also subsidizing naira. That’s one thing they will never tell you.
“The reason the naira is at a certain rate to $1 is because it’s been quietly and secretly subsidized. But the big question is: why lie about subsidies? Then we have to stop telling lies about subsidies.
“It’s not that subsidy is bad because there’s no country in the world that doesn’t subsidise their poor.
“In fact, the people that get the most subsidies in Nigeria are not the poor. It’s the rich; all the people who bring in foreign goods and services.
“Go and look at their waivers, their customs, you will know who is getting rich subsidies compared to the people who are getting 10 naira from each gallon of petrol that was taken away from them.
“You saw what happened. Immediately subsidies were removed, look at where our economy is. The naira also went down,” Sowore said.
He also criticised the government’s economic policies, arguing that wealthy Nigerians and businesses benefit more from various waivers and customs concessions than ordinary citizens.
Sowore maintained that subsidies should not automatically be viewed as harmful, arguing that governments around the world use subsidies to support vulnerable members of society.