Subsidy removal saved Nigeria from economic crisis, Says BTO 4PBAT DG

…Rallies Ondo residents for Tinubu’s re-election

Saheed Daudu

The Director-General of BTO 4PBAT, Adesuyi Adojutelegan, has defended President Bola Tinubu’s removal of the petrol subsidy, arguing that Nigeria would have faced a serious economic crisis had the policy been retained.

Adojutelegan, who spoke in Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State during a unit-to-unit campaign for Tinubu’s re-election, said the subsidy regime had placed considerable pressure on public finances, leaving some state governments struggling to meet their salary obligations.

He dismissed calls for the restoration of the subsidy, accusing those advocating the policy’s reversal of playing politics with the country’s economic situation.

He said “Those who are calling for its return are doing so out of complete ignorance and lack of understanding. They are playing politics with it in order to score cheap political points,”

The BTO 4PBAT director-general, whose group is sponsored by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, maintained that the removal of the subsidy was a necessary economic decision, despite the hardship associated with the policy.

He urged residents of Ondo State to assess the Tinubu administration’s policies and development programmes as the group intensified its grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Adojutelegan said the unit-to-unit campaign was designed to take information about the administration’s policies and achievements directly to residents, particularly at the community level.

“We saw the need to bring his achievements to the public square,” he said.

He listed road infrastructure, the student loan scheme, increased revenue allocations to state governments and interventions in the health sector among the areas in which he said the administration had made progress.

According to him, ongoing road projects across the country and the student loan scheme were among the initiatives the group intended to highlight during its mobilisation exercise.

He also argued that increased allocations to state governments had expanded their financial resources for governance and service delivery.

The director-general said the campaign would continue across communities in Ondo State to explain the administration’s policies and programmes as the group mobilised support for Tinubu’s second term.

The campaign forms part of efforts by pro-Tinubu support groups to strengthen their grassroots presence ahead of the 2027 presidential election.