Fuel Subsidy Removal Funding Development Projects, Presidency Insists After Imo Inspection

The Presidency has defended the Federal Government’s decision to remove fuel subsidy, stating that the increasing number of infrastructure and development projects in Imo State is evidence that the policy is delivering positive results.

Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Special Duties, Tunde Rahman, made the remarks on Wednesday during the Renewed Hope Ambassadors’ media tour of Federal Government projects in Owerri, the Imo State capital. Rahman, who also serves as the Director of Media and Publicity of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, said the projects inspected reflected the benefits of increased funding available to governments following the subsidy removal.

According to him, the Federal and Imo State governments have demonstrated how collaboration between the centre and states can accelerate development.

“From all the projects we have seen so far, we can confirm the beauty and significance of states being in alignment with the centre for the purpose of development,” Rahman said.

He highlighted the Federal Government’s upgrade of the Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education and ongoing improvements at the Federal University Teaching Hospital in Owerri as examples of the Tinubu administration’s commitment to infrastructure and public service delivery.

Rahman also commended Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, saying many of the projects executed by the state complement the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

“We can see that Governor Hope Uzodimma has executed essentially Federal Government projects. He is doing it to support the Federal Government in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda,” he stated.

He further pointed to intervention projects funded by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and the growing number of students from Imo State and across the South-East benefiting from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as indicators of the administration’s investment in education.

Rahman maintained that the removal of fuel subsidy was a strategic policy designed to redirect resources towards projects with lasting economic and social impact.

“It also shows that the removal of subsidy is a well-thought-out decision. The governors of the states the Renewed Hope Ambassador Media Tour has visited have confirmed that making funds available has helped them to implement projects. If the full benefits have not come to some states till now, they will come in no distant time,” he said.