Gombe State Governor Muhammadu Inuwa has accused the Federal Government of secretly paying more money in fuel subsidy despite announcing its removal in May 2023.
WikkiTimes reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had during his inauguration speech in May 2023 declared the removal of the fuel subsidy which raised fuel price above N600.
In a recently surfaced audio clip obtained by WikkiTimes, Governor Yahaya, during a security meeting with state stakeholders before the #EndBadGovernance protest in August, stated that the subsidy still exists despite the increase in petroleum prices and the President’s announced removal
The Governor also blamed the country’s economic hardship on the devaluation of the Naira currency, saying mistakes have been committed by the past administrations, which he argues birth the current economies woes in the country.
“We were blessed with resources in abundance including Cocoa, Cotton and Groundnuts but we chose to focus on crude oil alone and some people stole from it,” he said.
Speaking on the habitual mismanagement of funds by persons in the Government, he recounted his tenure as Gombe Commissioner of Finance and Economic Development when Ngozi Ikonjo Iweala was Minister of Finance, saying “the sum of 24 billion dollars was generated as net profit and the then Minister said we should save for the rainy days, but the Governors of that administration disagreed, saying it was raining already. That was how the money was shared.”
