Gov. Obaseki is criticised by FG for criticising Tinubu’s economic strategy

Godwin Obaseki, the governor of Edo State, has come under fire from the federal government for opposing President Bola Tinubu’s economic strategy.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday in Benin, Obaseki claimed that the withdrawal of gasoline subsidies and foreign exchange reforms implemented by Tinubu’s administration had made life more difficult for Nigerians.

“With the elimination of subsidies, the exchange rate is now aligning. The result is that a significant portion of the weight of these policies will fall on the weakest and most disadvantaged citizens of the nation.

“I’m surprised that those who ran nationwide campaigns promising to eliminate subsidies had concrete strategies for what would happen next. They are unsure of what to do or how to help people who would suffer as a result of subsidy elimination.

The minister of information and national orientation, Mohammed Idris, responded to the governor’s statement on Thursday by saying that Obaseki’s remarks about the APC-led federal government’s decisions on fuel subsidies and foreign exchange market reforms ignored the bigger economic picture.

While conflicting opinions among leaders are normal, it’s important to base discussion on observable outcomes and to ground criticism in fact.

It is well known that Nigerians, State Governors of all political stripes, international organisations like the World Bank and IMF, as well as numerous economic experts, have consistently argued for the elimination of fuel subsidies due to the fiscal distortions and burden they have caused on the country’s economy.

This load includes many months in which the NNPC made no additions to the Federation account, leaving states and local governments with less funding from FAAC as a result of the regular payment of fuel subsidies that the national oil firm charged to the Federation account.

For context, Edo State, led by Governor Obaseki, has significantly profited from the subsidy reduction, as seen by the more than doubling of the FAAC allocation to Edo State between June and July 2023 compared to what it had previously gotten prior to the elimination of fuel subsidies.

“Our suggestion? The emphasis should be on how Governor Obaseki would use available resources to generate effective projects that actually elevate the people of Edo State rather than diving into tales that don’t give the whole picture.

We continue to be baffled as to what would have prompted Governor Obaseki to level such flagrantly false claims against the Federal Government.