The Arewa Economic Forum has urged President Bola Tinubu to reverse the subsidy removal policy and allocate the extra funds provided by the Federal Allocation Accounts Committee to states for the resumption of the Premium Motor Spirit subsidy.
The forum suggested that the decision should be implemented until the President can ensure the transparency and accountability of state governors to citizens within the limits of his constitutional powers and political influence.
The forum’s Chairman, Ibrahim Dandakata, stated these at a press briefing to propose solutions to issues bedevilling the nation on Thursday in Abuja.
He highlighted a challenging period for citizens who find it difficult to afford necessities, including food, medications, and essentials, caused by hyperinflation resulting from the removal of fuel subsidies and the sharp depreciation of the naira.
Tinubu, in his inaugural address on May 29, declared an end to petroleum subsidy regime.
The announcement led to a spiralling cost of goods and services, with fuel prices leaping by over 100 per cent.
Reading his speech titled “Time to Rethink the Subsidy Removal Policy,” Dandakata said the huge sums of money available to state governors are not trickling down because the governors are not investing in areas that will reflate the state economy and are not committed to providing palliatives for the people.
He said, “To be fair to him, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made it unambiguously clear during electioneering that he would remove fuel subsidy if he won the election. What he didn’t, however, warn Nigerians of is the unprecedented hardship this singular decision will cause for our people.
“But fuel subsidy removal is not all about bad news. It has at least caused a massive increase in the monies shared at the Federation Account Allocation Committee meetings, with states going away with humongous figures every month. But how has more money for governors to play with affected the lives of the masses? How?
“The forum has found out that the huge sums of money available to state governors are not trickling down because the governors are not investing in areas that will reflate the state economy and are not committed to providing palliatives for the people.
“A check we conducted on recent FAAC allocations has shown that some of the states have had their allocations increased by up to 90 per cent with little or no improvement in the lives of the people. The percentage increase in the allocations to states after fuel subsidy removal is humongous.
“We are therefore using this platform to call on President Tinubu to reverse the subsidy removal policy and use the extra money FAAC has been giving to the states to resume paying subsidy on PMS. The President should do this urgently if he knows he can’t find a way within the limit of his constitutional powers and political influence to make the governors more accountable to the people.”
The forum also called on the government to put together a proper social register that can be used to distribute food items to Nigerians without the involvement of the state governments.
“We are also calling on the federal government to put together a proper social register that can be used to distribute food items to Nigerians without the involvement of the state governments,” he said.
Speaking on forex crises and economic matters, Dandakata urged the government to summon adequate political will to arrest the free fall of the naira by forbidding the practice of keeping dollars at home or in offices and clamping down on all hoarders of dollars.
According to him, analysis has shown that the price of dollars goes up after every FAAC meeting.
He said “”We are also of the opinion that the federal government must summon adequate political will to arrest the free fall of the Naira compared to the rising dollar. Dollar is not a legal tender in Nigeria. The government should therefore ban the practice of keeping dollars at home or in offices, and clampdown on all hoarders of dollars.
“The government should also investigate why dollars go up after every FAAC meeting. Relevant government agencies should also ban the practice of paying for goods and services online in dollars. Everything must be in Naira as far as it is done by a Nigerian in Nigeria. If we don’t stop our obsession with the dollar, our Naira will never rise.”
On the issue of state policing, the forum urged the government to revive and expand the Police Constabulary and provide for it the logistics needed to support security agencies to combat crimes at the local level rather than establishing state police who would be subjected to the order of the governor. (Punch)
