Governor Abdullahi Alhaji Sule of Nasarawa State has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the bold economic reforms of his administration, saying the removal of fuel subsidy and other reforms have significantly increased the state’s monthly allocation from the Federation Account from about ₦4.5 billion to approximately ₦16 billion.
Governor Sule stated this in Lafia, the state’s capital, when he received members of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors National Media Tour, led by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga.
The team, comprising Presidential media aides and over 50 senior journalists are on a nationwide inspection tour of federal and state governments’ projects across the North-Central states.
According to Governor Sule, the increase in federal allocations has created more fiscal space for Nasarawa State to execute landmark projects and respond more effectively to the developmental needs of its citizens.
“For us in Nasarawa State, we are very transparent. I came from the private sector, so, every contract I give, I announce the amount that we are spending on that contract, so that people can now see the difference with the kind of money we are receiving.
“I can tell you for free, you are right when you say that the first four years of my administration, everybody knows Nigeria was sharing anything between maybe ₦590 billion to about ₦620 billion monthly,” he said.
The governor also explained that prior to the reforms, the state was receiving about ₦3.8 to ₦4.5 billion monthly from the Federation Account, a situation which constrained the capacity of the government to undertake major capital projects.
Governor Sule noted that while the removal of fuel subsidy and other economic reforms initiated by President Tinubu created initial difficulties, President Tinubu demonstrated political courage by taking responsibility for the difficult decisions in the overall interest of the country.
He emphasized the importance of effective communication in helping citizens understand the rationale behind government’s policies, particularly reforms that may initially appear difficult, but are designed to strengthen the economy and improve the capacity of governments to deliver public services.
He said the President “took the bullet” on behalf of the states and local governments, thereby creating greater fiscal capacity for the three tiers of government to deliver dividends of democracy to Nigerians.
“Today, we are beginning to see the benefits because the resources available to us have increased tremendously,” he said.
The governor stated that the additional resources had enabled his administration to embark on several landmark projects in different parts of Nasarawa State, including road infrastructure, industrialization, development of education, healthcare, and water supply among others.
Governor Sule also commended the Renewed Hope Ambassadors National Media Team for undertaking the tour, describing it as an opportunity to showcase the impact of government’s policies and projects beyond official narratives.
He said the visit would enable Nigerians to see first-hand the projects being executed by both the Federal and Nasarawa State Governments and assess the extent to which the Renewed Hope Agenda is translating into development at the grassroots.
He expressed optimism that the continued implementation of the Federal Government’s economic reforms would further strengthen the fiscal position of states and enable them to undertake more transformative projects.
The Renewed Hope Ambassadors National Media Team, during its tour of Nasarawa State, on Saturday inspected the completed multi-billion naira state secretariat housing state Ministries of Education, Housing and Urban Development, Health, Justice as well as the 1-Megawatt capacity solar farm powering the Secretariat along Shendam Road.
The team also inspected the completed 16 km Makurdi bypass in Lafia connecting Nasarawa and Benue States, the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Skills Acquisition Centre, the multi-million naira Shinge Waterstorm Channel, as well as the completed Kilema Bridge along Lafia-Doma road.
Onanuga commended the exceptional courage of President Tinubu by removing the fuel subsidy and implementing critical economic reforms that successive administrations had acknowledged as necessary but repeatedly postponed.
“Actually, when President Tinubu came in 2023, he initiated some audacious reforms that ought to have been introduced some decades ago. But the country kept postponing them until he came, and from Day One uttered that famous phrase “subsidy is gone.”
“Thereafter, he followed it up with the floating of the naira and ended the multiplicity of Naira exchange rates to dollar. That immediately created inflation, people complaining of hardship and all kinds of things. The first year was very difficult. But later, things got better.
“I must thank His Excellency, Governor Sule for supporting the President at that moment. I think he was the one who came out on television, I watched him that day when he said that what the President has done is something that should be commended and that the President actually took the bullet for the sub-nationals for coming out with the reforms that they did.
“So, what the President did was to free up resources that the state governors have been longing for to develop their states,” Onanuga said.
Also speaking at the inspection site of Makurdi bypass, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Public Enlightenment, Mr AbulAziz AbdulAziz, said the quantum of work and infrastructure development witnessed across Benue and Nasarawa states, indicates that the Renewed Hope Agenda is working.”
