Following a series of challenges bedeviling the Nigerian economy and citizens at large in the aftermath of subsidy removal and naira deregulation, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State stated that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu adopted the two policies as the lesser evil compared to other measures that could have further impacted the economy.
The governor, speaking from the state capital in Ilọrin, explained that the federal government had considered large-scale currency printing to fund the subsidy regime as an alternative option. However, he emphasized that this approach would have severely crippled the economy and inflicted greater harm on the people.
“The (subsidy) policy was the lesser evil open to the federal government. Other options such as printing new currency on a large scale to fund fuel subsidy would crumble the economy and subject the people to greater harm,” AbdulRazaq stated.
Governor AbdulRazaq called for patience from Nigerians and assured them that he, along with other governors, were working with the federal government to address the current challenges caused by the implementation of these policies.
“Very soon, things will normalise, and we will be better for it,” he said. He said Tinubu had advised all states to go ahead and look at ways of mitigating the effects of the subsidy removal until the labour and federal government would reach an agreement on the new minimum wage.
“That’s why we rolled out new palliatives which include N10,000 transport allowance for workers. There will be food distribution, among several other interventions.
“The former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had bought a lot of fertilizers and maize which the federal government will now sell to the state governments for onward passage to the public,” AbdulRazaq added.
He said the government would concentrate more funding on welfare programmes to keep the economy going and help people to cope, adding that it will “slow down on other things that do not specifically address this need”.