The Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, has warned that reintroducing petrol subsidy would worsen poverty, undermine investor confidence and reverse the economic gains of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Mr Mbah stated this on Wednesday at a ‘Meet the Candidates’ town hall meeting organised by Afia TV in Enugu.
Defending Mr Tinubu’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy, the governor described calls for its reintroduction as a misunderstanding of the country’s economic realities.
He urged the Federal Government to focus on ensuring that the benefits of subsidy removal translated into improved living conditions, job creation and wealth for Nigerians.
“If you reintroduce fuel subsidy today, we will lose ten times whatever we are currently trying to gain in terms of the removal of subsidy. The poverty rate that you are going to experience will be very high because the naira will be automatically devalued,” he said.
Mr Mbah said returning to the subsidy regime would send a negative signal to prospective investors and trigger uncertainty in the economy.
“We cannot go back to subsidy. And I do not think it is in the interest of the country for us to even debate that,” he said.
He added, “Again, we should not even debate it because we do not want to send a signal to prospective investors that we are contemplating it. That would take us back.
“It is going to create panic in the system. It is going to get investors to pull back.
“Those that are coming in today to invest in that sector will become jittery. So, it is not even a subject to debate. It is something that we have moved on from, and we should be thinking about how to ensure that the natural benefits cascade to the households, create jobs and generate wealth for our people.”
The governor urged the Federal Government to encourage greater private-sector investment, citing developments in the stock market as evidence of improving investor confidence.
He said the economic policies introduced by Mr Tinubu had helped stabilise key macroeconomic indicators and attract foreign direct investment.
Mr Mbah said the country was attracting not only portfolio investments but also direct investments, expressing optimism that the trend would strengthen if the government sustained the policies.
“You can see quite a lot of funds coming into our country, not just portfolio investments but also direct investments.
“It is also going to strengthen because the macro indicators are right,” he said.