Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, leader of the Senate, explained how fuel subsidies’ key beneficiaries made governance difficult for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the first eighteenth month of his administration.
Bamide, who currently represents Ekiti Central in the Senate, also expressed confidence that the 2025 Appropriation Act would solve the country’s socioeconomic challenges at the national and sub-national levels.
He clarified this in a statement his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs issued yesterday, highlighting the imperatives of fuel subsidy removal at the inception of the Tinubu administration.
He specifically explained the socio-economic and political predicament confronting the president, describing how the economic predators fought and undermined his administration because he removed the fuel subsidy from the overriding public interest.
Bamidele said: “I am convinced that the president did the right thing by removing the fuel subsidy, for which the 9th National Assembly made provision till May 2023. However, the people who made governance difficult for President Tinubu were those benefiting from fuel subsidies.
“It was not ordinary men and women of this country who benefited from the fuel subsidy. It was not. Members of the cabal had access to the fuel subsidy. They are the ones taking away this privilege, all in the name and on behalf of the masses. And the masses did not benefit from it.
“I was part of the 9th National Assembly. At that time, we had agreed with the executive arm that the fuel subsidy should be removed because it was no longer in the country’s overriding interest. The Tinubu administration acted based on the policy direction the National Assembly approved before his inauguration on May 29, 2023.
“In the 2023 budget, the National Assembly only provided fuel subsidy until May 2023. Whether President Tinubu was removed at his inauguration or not, there was no more extended funding for subsidy because we did not make provision for it beyond May 2023.
“He did not say he was going to remove the fuel subsidy. He said the fuel subsidy was gone simply because the National Assembly only provided it until May 2023. Even if he had not said it, the fuel subsidy would have gone in two days after his inauguration.”
Bamidele noted that if the National Assembly made provision for subsidy, it would deny all the sib-national governments from receiving adequate statutory transfers from the Federation Accounts to run their administration.
He further noted that if the fuel subsidy were retained, it would have automatically plunged the country into an intractable fiscal crisis, possibly another economic meltdown because the government could no longer fund the subsidy programme.
He revealed that the proceeds realised from the fuel subsidy “are now being allocated directly to the subnational governments to drive development and boost the domestic economy.” These are the points we need to emphasise in our public engagement.
“Running an economy indeed calls for strategic response. The strategic steps will not yield a positive outcome within 24 hours. If the subsidy had not been removed, our economy would have been in shambles or flat on the floor.
“This administration has not been in office for up to two years. Much has been achieved across all strategic sectors, and diverse reforms are ongoing to deepen the administration’s gains further. If fuel subsidy is retained, only God knows what will happen to this federation,” the leader observed.
Bamidele also assured Nigerians that the 2025 Appropriation Act would essentially solve diverse challenges confronting the country at the national and sub-national levels.
Sadly, according to the leader, many people ignore sub-national governments. For instance, statutory transfers to the sub-national governments from the Federal Accounts have significantly increased. There is not much emphasis on it.
He noted that the state and local subnational governments “are also passing their budgets. What is essential is to get the focus of the budget at the national and subnational levels right.
“What is the focus of the 2025 budget being passed? Does it address the welfare of the people? Does it prioritise the critical sector of the economy, including education? What is the scale of attention being paid to health and social welfare? What is the percentage of the budget going to agriculture?
“Compared to the previous fiscal years, the federal government is devoting less to recurrent expenditure while more is being devoted to capital expenditure. That is a major shift from what had been in practice since the return to democracy. It means we are spending less on consumables.”
Besides, the leader commended the president for implementing diverse measures to stabilise the domestic economy, saying his administration “is determined not to retrench Nigerian workers regardless of the situation the country finds itself in.”
He noted that retrenching workers “was not an option before this administration because it would cause more problems. Look at our situation. We face grave security challenges that nearly erode the administration’s gains, especially in agriculture. This is mainly because people could no longer go to farms. It was quite a bad situation, but we are gradually coming out of it.
“While it is not yet Uhuru, the security situation is fast improving across the federation today. Some of the IDPs are gradually relocating to their base. Farmers are too steadily returning to their farms. Altogether, things are improving. I am sure that things will be different very soon.”
