Abiodun claims subsidy removal saved Nigeria N5.4tr

• Urges constructive engagement with govt
• Council poll: OGSIEC begins chairmanship, councillorship screening today

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has said that the subsidy on fuel, if not curbed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, would have cost the country N5.4 trillion by the end of 2024.

He said that it would have been disastrous for Nigeria to pay such a huge amount of fuel subsidy against the Federal Government’s budget of N6.7 trillion for the same fiscal year.

Abiodun, who disclosed this during a special church service to commemorate the 64th National Day celebration held at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, Ake, Abeokuta, said that the money is now available for the development of infrastructure across the country.

The governor, while calling on Nigerians to engage the government constructively and not join those fanning the flames of discord, said that protests would not achieve anything other than looting and vandalisation of public property.

Abiodun also disclosed that his administration would continue to implement measures to cushion the effects of the current realities.

He said that his administration would soon complete farmers’ markets across the four zones of the state, adding that the state government’s Gateway Trading Company, where food items would be sold at wholesale prices, would soon begin operation.

Earlier in his message, the Diocesan Bishop of Ijebu North Anglican Diocese, the Rt. Rev’d (Dr) Akinwande Godwin Odubena, noted that leadership plays a crucial role in the future of any country.

Odubena added that the citizens must be hopeful for a better Ogun State and Nigeria as a whole.

He urged the leaders, states, local councils and homes to recommit themselves to God.
IN another development, all political parties participating in the forthcoming local council elections in Ogun State are expected to present their candidates for the chairmanship and councillorship positions for screening between today and October 10, 2024, at the Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) headquarters at Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta, at 10:00 a.m. each day.

OGSIEC’s Chairman, Babatunde Osibodu, who announced this in a statement, urged all candidates to contact their party’s secretariats to confirm their scheduled appearance at the Commission.

The statement further stated that candidates must bring their original credentials, as well as other statutory documents for screening and verification.