Fuel Subsidy Removal Policy And Sustainable Livelihood Enhancement For Rural Women In Ikot Ekpene

The study examined the impact of fuel subsidy removal policy and sustainable livelihood enhancement for rural women in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Survey-based descriptive research with a mixed-method approach of qualitative and quantitative research methods was adopted for the study. The social conflict theory by Karl Marx, which in this context sees fuel subsidy removal, by the dominant group (the government) imposes policies that may negatively impact the subordinate group (rural women) without considering their unique needs and challenges, was adopted as a theoretical framework. Comprehensive research hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Purposive sampling technique was used to select six (6) rural communities of Amayam, Abiakpo Ikot Obio Nting, Nsiak, Itak Ikot Udo, Ikot Inyang and Ibong Ikot Akan, out of the 47 Communities in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area, using a Taro Yamane’s method to draw a sample size of 398 rural women from the population of 450,000 as projection of United Nation-World Population Projection of 2024, (UN-WPP, 2024), and used for the study. Findings of the study reveal that the policy of fuel subsidy removal plunged many women into untold hardship and abject poverty in most rural communities in Nigeria, and urgent action is needed to pull citizens in rural communities of the country out of chronic poverty, which have already enveloped them.