Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has said state governors, rather than President Bola Tinubu, should be held responsible for explaining how funds accruing from the removal of petrol subsidy are being spent.
Abiodun said the removal of the subsidy had increased allocations to state governments, making governors better positioned to account for how the additional revenue was being utilised.
The governor spoke at a rally organised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun.
He was reacting to criticism from opposition politicians over the management of funds saved from the removal of the petrol subsidy.
According to Abiodun, it was inappropriate to demand that Tinubu account for the gains from the policy when state governments receive increased allocations from the Federation Account.
He said governors had been using the additional funds to finance infrastructure and other development projects across their states.
“They said they want to return the subsidy. Are they mad? They were asking our leader to explain what he did with subsidy removal gains,” Abiodun said in Yoruba.
“It is we (governors) that should make such explanations because it is we, state governors, that collect the money.
“Besides, what have we been using to build roads, schools, provide good housing and incentives for farmers? Isn’t it from subsidy?”
The governor’s comments come amid renewed political arguments over the economic impact of the removal of petrol subsidy and how the resulting increase in government revenue has been distributed and spent.
Abiodun also used the occasion to attack opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections, expressing confidence that the APC would defeat its political rivals.
“Go and tell your people that all of them are not up to one. We will defeat them mercilessly,” he said.
The controversy over the utilisation of funds associated with subsidy removal has featured prominently in the political debate in recent weeks.
Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has repeatedly criticised the Tinubu administration over what he described as a failure to account for the savings generated by the removal of the subsidy.
Atiku has also vowed to restore the petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027, arguing that the government has not adequately explained how the savings from its removal have been utilised.
Tinubu, however, rejected the proposal, describing it as evidence of what he called “serious ignorance of governance and economy.”
The President also argued that some state governments were struggling to pay workers’ salaries and pensions before he assumed office, linking the improvement in states’ finances to the reforms introduced by his administration.
On August 19, Taiwo Oyedele, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, said the removal of the petrol subsidy had enabled the federation to mobilise N15.8 trillion between June 2023 and December 2025.
The figure has since featured in the broader debate over the fiscal impact of the subsidy removal and the extent to which the additional revenue has translated into improved public services and infrastructure.