Aiyedatiwa credits Tinubu’s reforms with boosting states’ finances, seeks re-election support

By Boye Oyeyemi

Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has credited President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms with improving the financial capacity of state governments, enabling them to pay salaries, settle inherited debts and execute capital projects without excessive borrowing.

The governor’s Chief Press Secretary and Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday after a stakeholders’ meeting with business operators under the Manufacturing and MSME Directorate of the Presidential Campaign Council in Akure.

Speaking at the Dr. Olusegun Mimiko Event Centre, The Dome, Aiyedatiwa warned that reversing the fuel subsidy removal policy could plunge states back into financial difficulties, forcing them to borrow to meet basic obligations such as salary payments. He also urged beneficiaries of Federal Government interventions to mobilise support for Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima ahead of the 2027 elections.

The governor listed the revival of the Ile-Oluji Cocoa Factory, support for cocoa production and agribusiness, tax exemptions for businesses with annual turnovers of up to ₦250 million and collateral-free loans under the National Credit Guarantee Scheme as some of the administration’s interventions.

Also speaking, the Minister of State for Industry, John Enoh, said the Tinubu administration had provided at least ₦3.6 trillion in loans and grants to businesses through development finance institutions in three years. He added that more than 40 million small businesses remained critical to Nigeria’s economic growth, citing initiatives such as free business registration, skills development and improved access to government contracts.

Similarly, the Special Adviser to the president on Industry, Trade and Investment, John Uwajumogu, said the reforms and targeted support programmes were improving the business environment, creating jobs and expanding access to local and international markets. He identified the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Ondo’s coastline, the proposed deep seaport and the Olokola Free Trade Zone as investment opportunities for businesses in the state.

The Managing Director of the Bank of Industry, Olasupo Olusi, disclosed that the bank had disbursed nearly ₦2 trillion to Nigerian businesses within three years, supporting about 42,000 nano enterprises and nearly 400 micro, small and medium-sized businesses. He added that almost 10,000 individuals in Ondo State had benefited from the National Credit Corporation, while 3,000 enterprises had received credit guarantees.

Olusi also highlighted agricultural support programmes involving ₦450 billion in funding, the provision of 2,000 tractors, 2.5 million bags of fertiliser and 300,000 bags of certified seeds. He said more than two million farmers had benefited from the interventions. Meanwhile, the Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, Charles Odii, urged Ondo and Cross River states to work towards raising Nigeria’s cocoa production to Ghana’s level before 2031, noting that increased local processing would boost export earnings and create jobs.