The 2027 governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State, Dr. Kelechi Anosike, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu deserves a second term, crediting the administration’s fuel subsidy removal policy for the massive infrastructure development across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In a statement by his Media Unit, Anosike argued that the policy has tripled allocations and ended the era of states borrowing to pay salaries, noting that the “welfare dividend” must now reach ordinary Nigerians.
“If anyone is asking, why should President Tinubu get a second term? What has he done to earn a second term? They should be referred to those projects, those massive developments in the 36 states and FCT. All these are just one policy that yielded all those results,” he said.
“Before now, states used to borrow money from banks to pay salaries and pensions. Since the president introduced this policy, no state has gone to any bank to borrow money. The banks are also strengthened,” he added.
The Abia PDP governorship candidate, however, cautioned that the economic burden of fuel subsidy removal has been transferred to citizens, and urged governors to deliberately convert increased resources into direct welfare programmes.
“If Nigerians are asked to bear the pain of subsidy removal, Nigerians must also receive the welfare dividend of subsidy removal. That should become a new social contract,” Anosike stated.
He described himself as “a welfarist” and said “the welfare of the people is my paramount consideration.”
“Where transport was N500 before subsidy removal, it is now N3,000, N4,000. People have to bear a lot on daily basis. States should provide productive investments, palliatives and social protection mechanisms,” he said.
He proposed a state welfare dividend programme built around six areas: food subsidy, transport subsidy, workers’ welfare, healthcare subsidy, education welfare, and youth enterprise support.
“Modern welfare should mean using public resources to reduce the cost of living, protect vulnerable citizens, increase productive capacity and give people the means to prosper,” he explained.
He faulted states that prioritise infrastructure over citizens’ well-being, referencing the president’s recent comment. “People must be alive to use infrastructure. The president said last three weeks that he saw wasted state resources building flyovers, that they should take care of their people.”
According to him, infrastructure and welfare are not opposites. “A good government should build roads and feed people, build hospitals and provide health care, build schools and support indigent students.”
Anosike said this philosophy will guide him if elected governor in 2027.
“That is what we are proposing to do in Abia State. We will build roads, we will feed Abians. We will build lives. The people first, then Abia always. The greatest infrastructure is the people,” he said.
Boniface Okoro
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