Senate President Godswill Akpabio has described President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy as a bold and courageous reform that rescued Nigeria from fiscal collapse and restored financial stability to state governments.
Akpabio made the remarks at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Infrastructure Commissioning Dinner in Abuja, where he represented President Tinubu.
He said the President inherited a fragile economy and took difficult but necessary decisions to reverse years of fiscal strain caused by the fuel subsidy regime.
According to him, the removal of the subsidy eliminated a major burden on the nation’s finances, freeing up resources for development and strengthening the financial position of states.
“When we came here, about 87 per cent of the country’s revenue was being used for fuel subsidies, and all that is gone, just because of one man who felt that it is better for Nigeria to survive,” Akpabio said.
The Senate President said the policy had transformed public finance and enabled state governments to meet their obligations without depending on bailouts or excessive borrowing.
He noted that many states can now execute development projects and pay workers’ salaries without resorting to bank loans. “Many states are not taking loans from any bank now to execute projects, and no state is taking loans to pay salaries. ” This was not the case before. There was a time in this country when even teachers in primary schools were owed salaries for more than one year,” he said.
Akpabio attributed the improvement to the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms and what he described as a restructured approach to revenue distribution.
He also commended the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the Minister of State for the FCT, Dr Mariya Mahmoud, for translating the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda into visible infrastructure across the territory.
“Tonight, we are seeing what happens when budgets become bridges and when policies become pavements,” he said, adding that the National Assembly was pleased with the pace of development in the FCT.
Reflecting on previous administrations, Akpabio recalled persistent disagreements between former FCT ministers and ministers of state, which, he said, often stalled governance and development.
He recounted intervening on several occasions during his tenure as governor to resolve disputes between officials, including an incident in which the entrance to the FCT Administration was allegedly blocked with heavy equipment.
The Senate President praised Wike and Mahmoud for working harmoniously under President Tinubu’s leadership, saying their collaboration had accelerated infrastructure delivery in the nation’s capital.
The dinner marked the end of a 31-day programme of project commissioning and flag-offs across the FCT.
Akpabio reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to delivering projects that would have a lasting impact on the lives of Nigerians.
“This is to show that public office must leave behind more than headlines.” It must leave behind highways, fantastic schools, functional hospitals and bridges,” he said.
