Mbah backs Tinubu on fuel subsidy removal…says “we’ve delivered good governance to Enugu”

Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Mbah, has reiterated his support for President Bola Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidy, describing the possibility of its reintroduction as unthinkable and insisting that the country cannot afford to return to the old order.
Mbah spoke on Wednesday at the “Meet the Candidates” town hall meeting organised by Afia TV in Enugu, where he also defended his administration’s performance, insisting that it had delivered good governance across all sectors in line with its campaign promises.
He described calls for the reintroduction of fuel subsidy as a misconception of the country’s economic realities and its current direction.
“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 would be automatically devalued.
“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.
“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,” he said.
The governor urged the country to focus on creating an enabling environment for private capital to flow into the economy, pointing to growth in the stock market as evidence of improving investor confidence.
He also attributed the increased inflow of foreign direct investment to the Tinubu administration’s economic policies, which he said had stabilised key macroeconomic indicators.
“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 stated.
Mbah further argued that the removal of fuel subsidy had enabled the government to direct resources towards vulnerable Nigerians, maintaining that the previous subsidy regime disproportionately benefited the wealthy.
“By the way, I do not think the subsidy we practised before the President removed it was even the right one for the country because even the people we were looking at benefiting from it were only insignificantly benefiting from it. It was largely beneficial to our wealthy folks.
“But now, you can almost notice that the government is doing that in targeting the poor, using proceeds from subsidy removal. The government is aggressive on cash transfers. There is also the programme where the government is targeting 1,000 persons per ward across the entire country to be able to provide seed capital for them to become productive,” he added.
Mbah Lists Achievements, Seeks Support for Second Term
On his administration’s performance, Mbah maintained that his government had fulfilled its commitment to the people of Enugu State by delivering good governance across various sectors in line with its campaign manifesto.
He urged residents to compare the state’s situation before he assumed office with the progress he said had been recorded under his administration.
“Let us imagine the Enugu we knew four years ago. Let us just imagine an Enugu without Hotel Presidential. Let us imagine an Enugu without the International Conference Centre. Let us imagine an Enugu without Enugu Air. Let us imagine Enugu without the transport terminals, the 268 Smart Green Schools, 260 Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centres.
“You do not want them to imagine an Enugu without the International Hospital. You do not want them to imagine an Enugu without the CNG buses, the Nigergas. I think the list is endless.
“But I even think that we can stretch that imagination further because the work ahead will be more profound. Just imagine an Enugu where our children are receiving education that prepares them for the world because they have been imbued with evolving 21st-century skills. Imagine again an Enugu where you do not have any part of the city with an unpaved road.
“Also, imagine an Enugu in four years’ time that generates 660 megawatts of electricity; where we are able to provide 24-hour power supply; where you cannot come into your house and have the light off; and where people can run their businesses for a whole week without worrying about the cost of diesel. Just imagine an Enugu where you generate electricity and the people of Enugu are buying that at 120 naira because they own the coal that feeds the power plant.
“Imagine an Enugu where you now have to ride, not just on our CNG buses, but you have the monorail that can take you from point A to point B. Imagine an Enugu where you can fly from here to the United Kingdom, to the United States and other parts of the world,” he charged the electorate.
The governor urged the electorate to remain committed to his administration’s development agenda, defend what he described as the achievements of his first term and support his bid for re-election to sustain the state’s progress.
“If these imaginations capture our fancy, then we have a duty to fight for it. We do have a duty to continue to make sure that the bar does not come down and that the standard we have set in Enugu is sustained,” he concluded.