Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has said state governors, rather than President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, should account for how the financial gains from the removal of petrol subsidy are being spent.
Abiodun made the statement on Thursday during an All Progressives Congress (APC) rally at the Dipo Dina International Stadium in Ijebu-Ode.
The governor argued that state governments are in a better position to explain how the funds have been utilised because the removal of the subsidy has significantly increased allocations to states.
According to him, the additional revenue has enabled governors to fund infrastructure and other development projects across their respective states.
“They said they want to return the subsidy. Are they mad? They were asking our leader to explain what he did with subsidy removal gains,” he said in Yoruba.
“It is we (governors) that should make such explanations because it is we, state governors, that collect the money.
“Besides, what have we been using to build roads, schools, provide good housing and incentives for farmers? Isn’t it from subsidy?”
Abiodun’s comments come amid an intensifying political battle over the financial benefits of the subsidy removal and how the savings have been distributed among the three tiers of government.
Opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), have repeatedly criticised the Tinubu administration over its handling of the funds saved following the subsidy removal.
Atiku has also promised to restore the subsidy if elected president, arguing that the Tinubu administration has failed to adequately account for the savings generated by its removal.
Tinubu, however, has rejected the proposal, describing it as evidence of “serious ignorance of governance and economy.” The president has also argued that several states were struggling to pay salaries and pensions before he assumed office.
Meanwhile, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed on August 19 that the removal of the petrol subsidy had generated N15.8 trillion for the federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
The Ogun governor also dismissed the chances of opposition parties defeating the APC in the 2027 elections, boasting that the ruling party would overwhelm its rivals at the polls.
“Go and tell your people that all of them are not up to one. We will defeat them mercilessly,” he said.
