Senator Ben Bruce to Governors: Spend 5% of FAAC on Transport Subsidy

Senator Ben Bruce to Governors: Spend 5% of FAAC on Transport Subsidy

‎Former Senator representing Bayelsa East, Ben Murray-Bruce, has rejected calls for the restoration of Nigeria’s fuel subsidy, urging state governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to instead deploy part of their increased revenues to subsidise intra-state transportation.

‎Bruce, in a policy intervention on the country’s rising cost of living, argued that reviving the fuel subsidy would return Nigeria to a system that had persisted for decades without adequately benefiting ordinary Nigerians.
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‎According to him, the former subsidy regime created opportunities for corruption, smuggling and rent-seeking, while failing to provide sustainable relief to households.
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‎“Atiku Abubakar is wrong. Bringing back the fuel subsidy is not the answer. We tried it for forty years,” Bruce said, arguing that Nigeria should focus on targeted interventions that directly reduce the cost of living.
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‎He acknowledged the political difficulty associated with the removal of the subsidy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying the Federal Government had also significantly increased allocations to state governments through the Federation Account.
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‎Bruce therefore challenged the 36 state governors and the FCT Minister to assume greater responsibility for transportation within their respective jurisdictions.
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‎“Now the states must do theirs,” he said, insisting that subsidising intra-state transportation should primarily be addressed by state governments rather than the Federal Government.
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‎He argued that the constitutional framework gives state governments significant responsibilities over transportation within their territories, particularly following constitutional amendments…