Gov. Dapo Abiodun of Ogun on Tuesday held a closed-door meeting with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo at the former President’s residence in Abeokuta.
Abiodun who addressed journalists after the meeting which lasted for about one hour, declined comments on the details of the meeting
He, however, spoke on the removal of fuel subsidy, describing the measure as an initiative that would engender great gains in the nation.
The governor, who lamented that the country lost up to N4 trillion annually to the subsidy regime, stated that the step was long overdue.
He assured Nigerians that the Bola Tinubu-led administration would put the fund gained from the subsidy removal into better use to revamp the country’s economy.
“We all know that the present government started with a bang on May 29 and the President rolled out a few initiatives.
“One of the most laudable of those initiatives was his decision to remove subsidy on petroleum products.
“As controversial as that initiative has been, no one can deny the fact that it is a very welcome initiative.
“That was a subsidy that Nigeria could no longer afford and one that the budget could not accommodate beyond June 2024.
“It was a subsidy that was not even in the budget beyond June 2023.
“More importantly, it was costing Nigeria about N4 trillion per annum, a fund that Nigeria did not have but had to borrow.
“It was a fund that could be better expended to other uses for the benefit of the citizens,” he said.
While noting that the initiative came with some discomfort, Abiodun however described them as necessary and temporary..
“Of course, it was a decision that also came with a bit of pain, but like they say, there is no gain without some pain,” the governor said.
He urged Nigerians to endure the hardship of the increase in price of fuel and other goods, saying “the benefits of the subsidy removal outweigh the pains.”
Abiodun explained that his administration had rolled out series of palliatives for civil servants, pensioners and other residents of the state to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal.
He stated that his administration had on Monday given approval for the payment of N10,000 cash for all public servants and pensioners in the state.
Abiodun, who stated that his government also approved payment of hazard allowance for all health and medical personnel in the state, gave assurance that the gesture would take effect from July.
“What you heard us announced in Ogun on Monday are part of the initiatives that the Federal Government has designed for implementation at various state levels.
“What we have just done was to immediately begin that implementation because as soon as the President announced the deregulation, we held series of meetings with representatives of various labour unions to discuss the different options that would be acceptable to the government and their members.
“So, that enabled us to be able to fast-track our own policies.
“We believe that these initiatives should immediately ameliorate the pains our people are feeling and I’m sure that you will see that other state governments are doing the same,” he said.(NAN)
