The Arewa Economic Forum, (AEF) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reinstate subsidy payment on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol or fuel, using extra money paid to the States from the Federation Account Allocation Committee, (FAAC), to cater for it.
AEF’s Chairman, Ibrahim Shehu Ɗandaka, conveyed the Forum’s position at a press conference yesterday in Abuja, amid prevailing economic challenges faced by the Nigerian masses with removal of fuel subsidy.
The body wants the President to act on it urgently if he knows he can’t find a way within the limit of his constitutional powers and political influence to make the governors more accountable to the people.
Recall that the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government on 29th May, 2023 pushed prices of food items and essential services.
Speaking yesterday, the AEF Chairman situated the problem at the doorstep of States’ governors, whom he said refuse to allow huge money to be collected from FAAC to trickle down to the masses.
To address the poverty level in the country, Ɗandaka called on the President to put together a proper social register that can be used to distribute food items to Nigerians without the involvement of the state government.
The Forum Chairman said President Tinubu meant well in subsidy removal policy, adding that the sub-national Government heads create difficulty in the chain process. “We are also calling on the Federal Government to put together a proper social register that can be used to distribute food items to Nigerians without the involvement of the State government”, he added.
Proffering a solution to the intractable forex liquidity crisis, the AEF Chairman tasked the Federal Government to investigate why dollars go up after every FAAC meeting.
On the Government’s plan to introduce State policing in response to the festering insecurity challenges across the country, the Forum was averse to the move. Doing that, it noted, would empower governors with a tool likely to be used for political witch-hunting.