Fuel subsidy: Be sensitive, reduce long convoys – Soludo tells govs

Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra state, has counseled colleagues from other states to be sensitive and reduce long convoys, following the removal of fuel subsidy.

In his words, “Hey gentlemen, we would need to be sensitive to the times; we need to live within the average of the people that we’re governing, and so on and so forth, and knock off the waste and the irrelevancies, so to speak,” Soludo said.

Soludo said this while addressing journalists after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting which was chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Council Chambers of the State House in Abuja on Thursday.

He noted that the situation in the country has called for some reviews, and it would be insensitive for governors to move around with large convoys.

According to him, the state governor that is going with “20-something vehicles in a convoy and all these have to be fuelled” is not living “within the average of the people”.

Soludo also confirmed there were discussions among the governors and members of the council to also make sacrifices for the people.

Soludo cited examples of what he has done in his state to cut costs.

He said, “When I assumed office, for example, it was costing about N137 million every month to clean up public offices, and so on. Today, in Anambra, we’re doing N11 million a month from N137 million on a monthly basis; this is just an illustration.”

Vice President Kashim Shettima chaired the NEC meeting. The council is also made up of the 36 state governors, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and other government officials.