States Hail Tinubu’s Reforms as Aiyedatiwa Warns Subsidy Reversal Threatens Finances

​AKURE — Ondo State Governor, Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, has credited President Bola Tinubu’s bold economic restructuring with rescuing sub-nationals from acute financial distress, cautioning that any return to the fuel subsidy regime would plunge states back into heavy borrowing just to meet routine salary obligations.

​Speaking at a high-level stakeholders’ engagement with business operators in Akure, organized by the Manufacturing and MSME Directorate of the Presidential Campaign Council, Governor Aiyedatiwa emphasized that improved federal allocations following the subsidy removal have empowered states to comfortably clear inherited liabilities, execute capital projects, and stabilize internally generated finances without relying on deficit financing.

​The event, held at The Dome, served as a platform to highlight federal interventions in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector, review the administration’s scorecard, and rally grassroots support for the re-election bid of President Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima.

​Massive Financial Interventions Across Sectors

​Detailing the tangible impacts of federal policies, the Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, disclosed that the Federal Government has channeled at least N3.6 trillion in targeted credits and grants directly to businesses through development finance institutions over the past three years.

​This is alongside landmark support frameworks, including free Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) registrations for over 50,000 MSMEs, comprehensive skills acquisition via the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the promotion of the Nigerian First public procurement policy. Highlighting industrial progress, Senator Enoh noted that approximately 220 local products have now met international standards to compete under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework.

​Reinforcing these figures, the Managing Director of the Bank of Industry (BOI), Dr. Olasupo Olusi, revealed that the bank has disbursed nearly N2 trillion nationwide over three years. In Ondo State alone, nearly 10,000 individuals accessed the National Credit Corporation scheme, while 3,000 enterprises secured crucial credit guarantees.

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​Dr. Olusi also highlighted broader agricultural support figures, noting the distribution of 2,000 tractors, 2.5 million bags of fertilizer, and 300,000 bags of certified seeds that have directly impacted over two million farmers, alongside the physical revitalization of strategic cocoa-processing hubs in Akure and Ile-Oluji.

​Boosting Agricultural Value Chains and Infrastructure

​The Special Adviser to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. John Ugochukwu Uwajumogu, pointed to strategic infrastructure projects—such as the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the state’s proposed deep seaport, and the Olokola Free Trade Zone—as game-changers designed to expand market access for Ondo’s cocoa farmers, lower manufacturing overheads, and streamline export logistics.

​Adding momentum to the industrial drive, the Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Charles Odii, challenged Ondo and Cross River states to scale up domestic cocoa production to rival regional giants like Ghana by 2031. He pledged the unalloyed backing of federal agencies to ensure local processing is prioritized over the mass export of raw commodities.

​Mobilizing the Grassroots

​While acknowledging that some business owners are yet to tap into the ongoing intervention packages, Governor Aiyedatiwa charged direct beneficiaries to serve as ambassadors by cascading the administration’s achievements down to local communities, towns, and electoral wards.

​“What is left that we all have to do is to take this news out there… why they should vote for the re-election of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his Vice, Senator Kashim Shettima,” Aiyedatiwa urged.