Udengs Eradiri Dismisses Atiku's Subsidy Return Plea, Backs Refinery Revamp

Mr. Udengs Eradiri, the immediate past President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), has expressed strong disagreement with former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar's suggestion to bring back the fuel subsidy. Eradiri instead called on President Bola Tinubu to channel the funds saved from the subsidy's removal towards revitalizing Nigeria's refineries and strengthening the independence of local government councils across the nation.

Eradiri contended that the initial objective of the fuel subsidy — to alleviate economic hardship for Nigerians — was never achieved, making its reintroduction an ineffective solution to the country’s current economic challenges. He urged the federal government to deploy the resources freed up by subsidy removal into initiatives that would directly lower the cost of living and enhance citizens' welfare.

“I disagree with former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to return fuel subsidy. I think that the intended objective of having the fuel subsidy in the first place was not achieved, as it failed to bring succour to the people,” Eradiri stated.

According to Eradiri, the immediate priority should be ensuring that all government-owned refineries achieve full operational capacity. He argued that a boost in domestic petroleum product production would increase supply, reduce petrol prices, and subsequently lead to a decrease in the cost of various goods and services.

“I welcome the move by the President to ensure that all our refineries are performing at full capacity. He should direct the Petroleum Minister to relocate to the areas where our refineries are located and give them a timeframe to make them work,” he advised. Eradiri further proposed the creation of a distinct Ministry of Refineries to guarantee sustained government focus on the rehabilitation and efficient operation of these vital facilities. “It is also not out of place if the President creates a separate Ministry of Refineries to ensure absolute focus in tackling obstacles militating against our refineries’ growth and development,” he added, explaining that functional refineries would generate an excess supply of petrol, driving down pump prices and creating a beneficial ripple effect on the cost of goods and services for the common citizen.

The former IYC president also criticized state governors, alleging that they are undermining the positive impacts of the federal government's economic reforms, particularly by failing to fully implement the Supreme Court judgment that affirmed local government autonomy. He implored the federal government to take decisive action to ensure that local governments operate as an independent tier of government, receiving their statutory allocations directly.

“The gains of the ongoing economic reforms by the President seem to be frustrated by the governors, majority of whom have refused to implement the Supreme Court judgment on local government autonomy,” Eradiri asserted. He further advocated for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct local government elections, believing this would reduce governors’ influence over elected council chairmen and bolster the councils' independence. “It is time for the government to take over the local government administration to ensure it is another independent arm of government and ensure that the elections are conducted by INEC to enable their monies go directly to the councils,” he emphasized.

Eradiri also called on the Presidency to establish a framework guiding local governments on how to deploy their allocations to projects that directly benefit citizens. He suggested that council funds could be used for community and farm roads, as well as other essential infrastructure designed to improve livelihoods at the grassroots. “Local government funds of today can build community roads, farm roads and other things that can make positive impact,” he noted. Eradiri claimed that certain governors continue to control local government finances by influencing council chairmen, thereby subverting the autonomy of the third tier of government. “Many of these governors don’t allow these monies to get to the local government because they still control their chairmen. They conduct the elections and tell the local government chairmen their shares of their allocations,” he alleged.

Expressing concern, Eradiri observed that despite increased financial resources flowing to states, the positive impact was not adequately reflected in the living conditions of citizens. “The President cannot be working hard and his hard work will be sabotaged by the incompetence and greed of the governors. It is becoming painful that the President is working hard and putting a lot of money in states but this money is not reflecting in the lives of the people. The strategy must change,” Eradiri concluded.