Kwara Governor Abdulrazaq Says Fuel Subsidy Removal Has Been Highly Beneficial for the State

AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and governor of Kwara State, said that states across the federation have benefited from President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy, which took effect on May 29, 2023.

Speaking in Lagos on Friday, AbdulRazaq was present at an NGF gathering led by Vice President Kashim Shettima, during which the forum paid a Sallah homage at President Tinubu’s Lagos residence.

He reflected on the president’s bold move to eliminate fuel subsidies since taking office in 2023.

“I remember we were in China when I received a call from the NSA and DSS DG informing us that the oil subsidy would be removed and that there was no going back,” AbdulRazaq recalled. “We went into panic mode, and I sent a message to my fellow governors, but nobody wanted to hear it.”

“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. At the end of his speech, we couldn’t even bring up the topic. We didn’t even know if he had received security reports about why we wanted to see him, but we couldn’t bring up the issue.”

“We went back to our rooms 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,” he added. “Today, we benefit from that policy. In my own state, we have reduced our debt by 40%. Some states have also cleared their debts.”