NECA Urges States, LGs To Account For N10.4tn Subsidy Savings

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, (NECA), has urged state and local governments to account for the N10.4 trillion distributed to them from resources generated following the removal of the petrol subsidy.

The Director-General of NECA, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, made the call in an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, following the disclosure by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, that the removal of the petrol subsidy mobilised N15.8 trillion for the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025.

Oyedele had disclosed on Wednesday that the Federal Government received N5.4 trillion of the amount, while N10.4 trillion was shared among state and local governments through the Federation Account.

Reacting to the figures, Oyerinde said state governments, particularly commissioners of finance, now had an obligation to explain how the funds received were utilised.

He urged states to publicly disclose how much they had received, the challenges encountered and how the funds were spent.

According to him, the need for accountability should extend to all tiers of government, just as private businesses are expected to account for their financial performance to shareholders.

Oyerinde said the Minister of Finance had “led the way” by providing details of the Federal Government’s finances, urging states to follow suit by making similar disclosures.

He said, “The commissioners of finance in states, you come out and also say, this is how much we’ve received; this is how much we have spent.”

The NECA boss also called for greater transparency in the management of public funds, saying citizens should be able to scrutinise how resources allocated to their states and local governments are being used.

He said increased disclosure would enable Nigerians to engage state and local governments constructively on development and public spending.

Oyerinde commended the federal government for allowing the Minister of Finance to publicly provide details of its finances, describing the move as a step towards greater transparency.

Meanwhile, Oyedele had explained that the N15.8 trillion generated from the removal of the petrol subsidy did not appear as a separate credit to the Federation Account labelled “subsidy savings”.

Instead, he said the savings were reflected in the resources available to the three tiers of government.

According to the minister, the federal government also generated N3.1 trillion in additional independent revenue between June 2023 and December 2025, largely through remittances from government-owned entities and increased surpluses from government agencies.

He added that the federal government borrowed N11.9 trillion during the period, bringing its incremental resources from additional revenue and borrowing to N20.4 trillion.

However, Oyedele said incremental expenditure during the period stood at N30.64 trillion.

The petrol subsidy was removed by President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023, during his inauguration, when he declared that “subsidy is gone.”

The policy led to a sharp increase in petrol prices and higher transportation, logistics and production costs, intensifying cost-of-living pressures across the country.

The federal government has continued to defend the reform as necessary to reduce fiscal pressure and redirect public resources towards other priorities, while implementing measures such as wage adjustments, agricultural support and the expansion of Compressed Natural Gas initiatives to cushion its impact.