2027: Subsidy Removal Secured Regular Payment of Salaries, Pensions, Gratuities by FG, States – Arodiogbu
Dr. Ijeomah Arodiogbu MBBS Phd has urged Nigerians to keep faith with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general elections, describing the removal of fuel subsidy as the decisive policy that restored the capacity of both the Federal Government and state governments to meet critical obligations such as salaries, pensions and gratuity.
Reacting to a statement made by President Tinubu during a recent engagement in Akwa Ibom State, Dr. Arodiogbu said the President’s explanation of the difficult but necessary decisions taken at the beginning of his administration deserves the understanding and continued support of Nigerians, Presstv News Nigeria can report.
Addressing the gathering in Uyo, President Tinubu described the coming election as a defining moment for the country.
“This coming election, January 16, 2027, is a consequential election. It will define the direction of this country,” the President stated.
He went on to recall the severe fiscal crisis he inherited upon assumption of office in 2023.
“When I took over, 27 governors out of 36 of this country were unable to pay salary obligations, not to talk of pension and gratuity. By now, if we didn’t take a decision the day I took over, we would use wheelbarrow to move our naira because it would have become valueless,” President Tinubu said.
The President’s remarks underscored the argument that the removal of fuel subsidy, though painful, was an unavoidable step to prevent a complete collapse of public finances and the national currency.
In his detailed reaction, Dr. Arodiogbu described the President’s comments as a sober, factual and necessary reminder of the economic realities Nigeria faced at the start of the current administration.
He argued that the bold decision to remove the fuel subsidy freed up substantial resources that had previously been consumed by an opaque and unsustainable subsidy regime. Those resources, he said, have since enabled both the Federal Government and many state governments to meet salary, pension and gratuity obligations that were previously in arrears or at serious risk of default.
“The subsidy removal was not a political decision; it was an economic necessity. It guaranteed the payment of salaries, pensions and gratuity across the federation. Without that difficult choice, the country would have slid deeper into fiscal collapse, and the naira would have lost whatever value it still retained,” Dr. Arodiogbu stated.
He noted that before the reform, a large number of states struggled monthly to meet basic wage obligations, while pensioners in several parts of the country went for long periods without their entitlements. According to him, the improved fiscal space created by the subsidy removal has changed that reality in many states.
Dr. Arodiogbu urged Nigerians to look beyond the temporary hardships that accompanied the reform and recognise the long-term stabilisation of public finances.
“We must keep faith with President Tinubu in 2027. The same courage that confronted the fiscal crisis and restored the capacity of governments to pay workers and pensioners is the courage Nigeria still needs to complete the journey of economic recovery and national renewal,” he said.
He maintained that the January 16, 2027 election presents Nigerians with a clear choice between continuity of difficult but necessary reforms and a return to the fiscal irresponsibility that nearly rendered the naira worthless.
“Those who criticise the subsidy removal must also tell Nigerians how they would have paid salaries, pensions and gratuity if the old order had continued. Leadership sometimes requires taking painful decisions for the greater good of the country,” Dr. Arodiogbu added.
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