The Director-General of BTO 4PBAT, Adesuyi Adojutelegan, has defended President Bola Tinubu’s removal of the petrol subsidy, saying the decision helped Nigeria avert a major economic crisis.
Adojutelegan spoke during a unit-to-unit campaign in Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State, where he mobilised residents to support Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The campaign, sponsored by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, was aimed at taking the administration’s policies and achievements to the grassroots ahead of the next presidential election.
He warned against calls for the reinstatement of the subsidy, arguing that a return to the previous arrangement could worsen the country’s economic challenges and revive the fuel shortages and long queues experienced at filling stations.
“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,” Adojutelegan said.
He maintained that retaining the subsidy would have placed further pressure on government finances, noting that some state governments had struggled to meet their salary obligations before the policy was scrapped.
“If the subsidy was not removed, Nigeria would have been in a serious crisis. Before it was removed, many states could not pay salaries,” he added.
The BTO 4PBAT DG expressed optimism that Ondo residents would support Tinubu’s re-election, citing road construction, the student loan scheme, increased revenue allocations to states and developments in the health sector as areas of progress under the administration.
He said the grassroots campaign would continue to enlighten residents on the government’s programmes and policies, adding that the initiative was designed to bring information about the administration’s activities directly to communities.
“The unit-to-unit campaign was initiated to ensure that we pass the message to the people at the grassroots. We saw the need to bring his achievements to the public square,” Adojutelegan said.
