Dissatisfaction is swelling over reports that state government have not been able to properly manage the extra funds accruing to states from the gains of subsidy removal.
Reports from our correspondents indicate that Nigerians in different parts of the country believe that the additional revenue from the federal coffers to states have made no impact since 2023.
Recall that the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, recently claimed that fuel subsidy withdrawal has impacted the economy positively, with the Federal Government saving as much as $10bn in 2023.
Kalu, a member of the All Progressives Congress, also added that the policy has led to a 22% increase in dollar remittances from the Diaspora, totalling $28 billion in 2024.
Kalu disclosed these during a meeting with investors and a group of scholars at Oxford University in London on the sidelines of the UK-Nigeria Parliamentary Strategic Dialogue working visit to the United Kingdom.
He was reported as saying, “The removal of fuel subsidy saved the government $10 billion in 2023, redirecting funds to healthcare, education, and infrastructure while dollar remittances from the Diaspora have increased by as much as 22 per cent, totalling $28bn.”
Reports show that the funds remitted monthly to the Non-Oil Revenue (Savings) account of the government was N696.93bn in June, N389.7bn in July, N71bn in August and N289bn in September, 2023.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has also disclosed that the government had made a lot of savings from the petrol subsidy removal and passed the same to state governments to assist in cushioning the effects of the policy on Nigerians. He disclosed this at a parley with senior journalists in Abuja recently. The minister emphasised that a lot has been passed to state governors.
“So much money has been saved since the removal of the subsidy. Some of the money that has been saved has been given to states.
“Mr. President believes that state governments are closer to the people than the federal. “That is why the administration has been passing funds through the governors to provide palliatives to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal. “I cannot give the exact figure right now because it is an ongoing exercise,” he said.
But Stephen Iloba, an economist, said recent developments across the states in the country have shown that governors seem not bothered about the hardship being experienced by Nigerians He said: “They see the problem of poor purchasing power as a creation of the Federal Government.
Some of them are just operating as if they are in a different country. “Those that have increased minimum wage are still not sure of when they will begin to pay while labour are at loggerheads with some governors across the country. “I think the error is in our constitution – there is nobody or agency that monitors or checkmates the activities of governors.
They are commanders-in-chief in their states. Similarly, Dr Ade Omole, convener of National Problems and Solutions, a Non-Government Organisation, said the problem with Nigerians are mainly caused by some governors who seem too big to be controlled.
“Nigerians have seen in recent times that some of their governors are not for them. “How many states are into aggressive agriculture for the betterment of their people? “Their interest is basically in phantom infrastructure projects which will only be beneficial to their pockets.”
However, the Chief Press Secretary and Special Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Communications, Sulaiman Olanrewaju, insisted that the Oyo State government had deployed the additional revenue from the gains of subsidy removal to improve life and living for the people of the state.
He said: “With the additional revenue, the state government has been able to construct more roads, renovate more schools and improve more Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the length and breadth of the state.
“The government has also embarked on the tractorisation project of subsidizing the cost of hiring tractors by farmers by as much as 50 per cent. “In the same vein, the government has been supporting farmers with seedling and other farm inputs. “In addition, the Oyo State government has recruited over 20,000 new workers in the last six months. It has also been able to pay minimum wage of N80,000 and increased pensioners’ wages.”
Despite some of the claims emerging from Government Houses, there is growing discontent in states, going by our findings, which indicate that the people believe that not much has changed despite the extra revenue to the pulse of state governments.
There are fears that before long, the discontent over mismanagement of the post-subsidy revenue could ignite major crises across the states. (Daily Independent)
