Former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, stated that he would have approached the removal of the fuel subsidy differently had he been elected president, highlighting the importance of social housing and job creation as measures to mitigate the impact.
Amaechi, who served as Minister of Transport from 2015 to 2022 and ran for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket in 2022 but lost to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, shared his views on the second day of a democracy conference in Abuja.
The two-day event, titled “Strengthening Nigeria’s Democracy: Pathway to Good Governance and Political Integrity,” was organized by several groups, including the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA), and the National Peace Committee (NPC).
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During a session on the “Impact of democracy on the national economy,” Amaechi acknowledged that removing the fuel subsidy was an inevitable step for any president but raised concerns about the timing and the level of preparedness of President Tinubu’s government.
“My wife and children asked me what I would have done differently. My response was this: I would remove the subsidy, but I would not remove it without social housing. Why? With the money saved from subsidy removal and Naira devaluation, it could be used to build between 200,000 and 300,000 houses.”
Amaechi explained that implementing such a policy would help tackle the housing shortage while also generating employment opportunities in multiple sectors.
“If you build between 200,000 and 300,000 houses in the states, how many jobs have you created? At least 300,000 bricklayers, 300,000 carpenters, and 300,000 plumbers. By the time you do those things, what have you done? You have put money in the hands of the people,” he stated.
Amaechi also expressed concern over the widening gap between the rich and poor in Nigeria, calling the lack of a strong middle class a significant issue.
“The last time we had the middle class was under President Olusegun Obasanjo. He created an economy that generated jobs. Even though some argued it was a shaky middle class that disappeared at the end of every month when salaries were paid, at least we had a middle class,” he said.
He continued: “Now, it’s either you are rich or you are poor. If social housing and investments in agriculture had been implemented alongside subsidy removal, people would not feel the impact as harshly as they do now.”
Amaechi emphasized that the government should allocate the funds saved from subsidy removal towards concrete projects that directly enhance citizens’ lives and create economic opportunities.
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