The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has said that states across the federation have benefitted from the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu since May 29, 2023.
AbdulRazaq, who is also the Governor of Kwara State, made the remark on Friday in Lagos when the NGF, led by Vice President Kashim Shettima, paid a Sallah homage to President Tinubu at his residence.
He reflected on the President’s decision to remove fuel subsidy shortly after assuming office in 2023, describing it as a bold policy move.
According to him, “I remember we were in China when I got a call from the NSA and DSS DG to be informed that oil subsidy would be removed and there is no going back.
“We went into panic mode, and I sent a message to my colleague governors, and nobody wanted to hear that.
“I gathered my colleagues and decided to book an appointment with you to register our disagreement with the policy, but when the president invited us for dinner, we sat and listened to his vision for the country and at the end of his speech, we couldn’t even bring up the topic.
“We didn’t even know if he had gotten security reports about why we wanted to see him, but we couldn’t bring up the issue.
“We went back to our room and decided to implement it. So we agreed to call State executive council meetings because we were expecting serious riots due to the removal of fuel subsidies. There were already bad government riots, but lo and behold, there were no riots.
“I think the nation was shocked by the audacity of the president to implement that policy.
“Today, we benefit from that policy. In my own state, we have reduced our debt by 40%. Some states have also cleared their debts.”
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