Abiodun: Governors, not Tinubu, should explain subsidy windfall

OGUN State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has shifted responsibility for accounting for the financial gains from petrol subsidy removal to state governors, saying the additional funds are received and spent by the states.

Abiodun said the increase in allocations to states following the removal of the subsidy had provided governments with more resources to execute infrastructure and social programmes.

He spoke on Thursday at an All Progressives Congress (APC) rally at the Dipo Dina International Stadium in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.

The governor was responding to criticism of President Bola Tinubu over the use of funds saved from the petrol subsidy removal.

According to Abiodun, it is governors who should explain how the additional revenue has been deployed because the funds have translated into higher allocations to state governments.

“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,” Abiodun said in Yoruba.

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“It is we, the governors, that should make such explanations because it is we, state governors, that collect the money.”

He said the increased revenue had enabled state governments to finance projects including roads, schools and housing, as well as provide support for farmers.

“What have we been using to build roads, schools, provide good housing and incentives for farmers? Isn’t it from subsidy?” he asked.

The remarks come amid renewed political arguments over the economic consequences of the subsidy removal and the extent to which Nigerians have benefited from the additional government revenue.

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has been among the leading critics of the policy, arguing that the Tinubu administration has failed to adequately account for the savings generated by subsidy removal.

Atiku has pledged to restore the petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027.

Tinubu has rejected the proposal, arguing that restoring the subsidy would reverse the fiscal gains from the reform. The president has also said several states struggled to meet salary and pension obligations before his administration’s reforms increased their revenues.

Taiwo Oyedele, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, said in August that the federal government had recorded N15.8 trillion in savings from petrol subsidy removal between June 2023 and December 2025.

The figure has become central to the political debate over the subsidy reform, with opposition parties questioning how the additional revenue has been used and the federal government defending the policy as necessary to improve public finances.

Abiodun, however, argued that state governments are better positioned to answer questions about the deployment of the additional funds because they are the direct beneficiaries of the increased allocations.

The governor also dismissed the opposition’s chances in the 2027 elections, saying the APC would defeat its rivals.