Ondo group defends subsidy removal, seeks support for Tinubu’s re-election
By Boye Oyeyemi
Adesuyi Adojutelegan, director-general of BTO 4PBAT, an Ondo-based political support group, has urged Nigerians to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, arguing that the removal of petrol subsidy prevented the country from sliding into a deeper economic crisis.
Adojutelegan made the appeal during a grassroots mobilisation campaign in Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State, where members of the group engaged residents in a unit-to-unit outreach to promote the president’s administration.
The campaign, sponsored by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, was aimed at highlighting the administration’s policies and achievements while mobilising grassroots support for Tinubu ahead of the next presidential election.
Defending the subsidy removal, Adojutelegan criticised calls for its reinstatement, arguing that such demands were driven by political interests rather than a proper consideration of the policy’s economic implications.
He maintained that retaining the subsidy would have continued to put pressure on government finances, recalling that some state governments struggled to pay workers’ salaries before the policy was discontinued.
“If the subsidy was not removed, Nigeria would have been in a serious crisis. Before it was removed, many states could not pay salaries,” he said.
Adojutelegan expressed confidence that residents of Ondo State would support Tinubu for a second term, citing road construction, the student loan programme, increased allocations to state governments and developments in the health sector as evidence of progress under the administration.
He added that BTO 4PBAT would sustain its grassroots mobilisation efforts to educate residents about the government’s programmes, stressing that direct engagement with voters was essential to communicating the administration’s achievements and securing broader electoral support.
