The governor of Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said that the move by President Bola Tinubu to remove fuel subsidy will save Nigeria about $2.5 billion in budgetary expenditure.
Speaking in an interview on Sky News, UK, Sanwo-Olu noted that the President showed a strong political will in removing fuel subsidy.
He emphasized that such exorbitant funds can be directed to critical areas such as education, health, and poverty reduction.
- “What Tinubu has done, no President in Nigeria has been able to take that audacity to remove the subsidy on petrol. That in itself will save the country about $2.5 dollars. These are funds that can go into other areas like education, health and poverty reduction,” Sanwo-Olu said.
Accordingly, he appealed to the Nigerian public to be patient with the government, stating that the positive effect of subsidy removal will be evident in about a year.
- “What we are asking our citizens is let give the President a bit more time. He has set up very bold and laudable agenda with his Renewed Hope program. And I believe in six months from now we’ll begin to see the relief from all of his interventions,” the governor added.
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Responding to a question on why Lagos is setting up an international financial council, the governor emphasized that Lagos is ensuring that it creates an investment environment for investors, adding that the state can become a financial hub for Africa, given its huge population and GDP.
- “The whole idea is for us to be able to let the world, starting from London, know what is happening in Lagos. The council will set up strategies where we can handhold companies, foreign direct investors that want to come into Lagos.
- “There is a lot of investment that we need to bring into the tech industry, the financial services. We want to see a lot of financial international organizations come into Lagos. We want the creative industry to also have a play in our economy,” Sanwo-Olu added.
