Despite the tension in the country occasioned by threats of nationwide protests against hardship, Gombe State governor and chairman Northern Governors Forum, Inuwa Yahaya, has stated that he cannot ask President Bola Tinubu to restore fuel subsidy, which was removed since the inception of the present administration in May 2023.
The governor spoke on Tuesday while addressing trade unions, trader associations, and civil society organisations in the state at the Government House, Gombe, ahead of the planned nationwide protests.
Governor Inuwa explained that he was not consulted before the subsidy was removed, and therefore, he cannot ask President Tinubu to restore the policy.
He attributed the initial decision to remove the subsidy to former President Muhammadu Buhari, stating that President Tinubu only announced it upon his inauguration on May 29, 2023, due to its exclusion from the 2023 budget.
The governor clarified that President Tinubu had no choice but to announce the subsidy removal, as the 10th National Assembly was not inaugurated at the time of his swearing-in, making it impossible to send a supplementary budget to cater for the subsidy regime.
Governor Inuwa’s statement came in response to demands from the groups, who stated that they would not participate in the planned nationwide protests against bad governance, slated for August 1-10, but presented demands to the president through the governor which included the restoration of fuel subsidy that is believed to be one of the factors responsible for the current hardship and inflation in the nation.
Despite their stance, the governor maintained that he cannot intervene in the matter, citing his lack of involvement in the initial decision by the President.
“Let us tell ourselves the truth, you made a call that I should meet the federal government and ask for the restoration of fuel subsidy. When they made that decision, was I consulted?” he asked rhetorically amid laughter.
He, however, said that, on his part, he had distributed palliatives about 18 times since during the COVID-19 pandemic to ameliorate the sufferings of his people.