The Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has explained the challenges faced by President Bola Tinubu in the first 18 months of his administration, particularly in relation to the removal of the fuel subsidy.
Bamidele, the Senator representing Ekiti Central in the Senate, said the key beneficiaries of the subsidy, rather than ordinary citizens, were the ones who made governance difficult for the president.
The lawmaker stated this in a statement issued by his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs on Monday.
He said that the individuals who had access to the subsidy, mostly members of a powerful cabal, were responsible for undermining the administration.
Bamidele stressed that the removal of the subsidy was a necessary move in the public interest and that it was in line with an agreement made by the 9th National Assembly.
“I am convinced that the president did the right thing by removing the fuel subsidy, for which the 9th National Assembly made provision till May 2023. However, the people who made governance difficult for President Tinubu were those benefiting from fuel subsidies.
“It was not common men and women of this country who were benefiting from the fuel subsidy. It was not. It was members of the cabal who had access to the fuel subsidy. They are the ones taking away this privilege all in the name and on behalf of the masses. And the masses did not benefit from it.
“I was part of the 9th National Assembly. At that time, we had agreed with the executive arm that the fuel subsidy should be removed because it was no longer in the overriding interest of the country. The Tinubu administration acted based on the policy direction the National Assembly approved before his inauguration on May 29, 2023,” the senate leader noted.
Bamidele further clarified that the National Assembly had only allocated funds for the subsidy until May 2023, meaning that the subsidy would have ended shortly after President Tinubu’s inauguration, regardless of his announcement.
He argued that retaining the subsidy would have plunged the country into a fiscal crisis, as the funds could not be sustained, and would have led to cuts in crucial transfers to sub-national governments.
“In the 2023 budget, the National Assembly only made provision for fuel subsidy till May 2023. Whether President Tinubu was removed at his inauguration or not, there was no longer funding for subsidy because we did not make provision for it beyond May 2023.
“He did not say he was going to remove the fuel subsidy. He simply said that the fuel subsidy was gone simply because the National Assembly only made provision for it till May 2023. Even if he did not say it, the fuel subsidy would have gone in two days after his inauguration.”
The Senate leader expressed confidence that the 2025 Appropriation Act would address the country’s socio-economic challenges, not just at the national level but also at the state and local levels.
He emphasised that although the increased statutory transfers to sub-national governments were often overlooked, they were crucial for driving development across Nigeria.