The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has called on state and local governments to publicly account for the ₦10.4 trillion they received from resources generated following the removal of petrol subsidy.
NECA Director-General, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, made the call during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, August 20, 2026.
Key Highlights
- NECA demands accountability for ₦10.4tn: The employers’ body wants state and local governments to publicly account for funds received following petrol subsidy removal.
- ₦15.8tn generated from subsidy reform: Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said the removal generated ₦15.8tn in additional resources between June 2023 and December 2025.
- States and LGs received ₦10.4tn: The Federal Government received ₦5.4tn, while ₦10.4tn was distributed to states and local governments through the Federation Account.
- States urged to disclose spending: NECA called on commissioners for finance to reveal how much their states received and how the funds were utilised.
- Private-sector reporting standard cited: NECA said public authorities should provide financial disclosures similar to audited accounts expected from private companies.
His remarks followed a disclosure by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, that the removal of the petrol subsidy generated ₦15.8 trillion in resources for the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
According to Oyedele, the Federal Government received ₦5.4 trillion, while ₦10.4 trillion was distributed to state and local governments through the Federation Account.
Oyerinde said the disclosure should now compel state governments, particularly commissioners for finance, to explain how the funds allocated to them were utilised.
He said states should disclose the amount they received, the challenges they encountered and how the money was spent.
“The commissioners of finance in states, you come out and also say, this is how much we’ve received; this is how much we have spent,” Oyerinde said.
The NECA boss compared the situation to financial reporting in the private sector, where companies are expected to present audited accounts and performance reports to shareholders.
He commended the Federal Government for providing details of the resources generated through the subsidy reform, saying the disclosure would allow citizens and stakeholders to scrutinise public spending more effectively.
Oyerinde also urged Nigerians to engage state and local governments constructively over the use of public funds, stressing that development should begin at the grassroots.
Oyedele explained that the ₦15.8 trillion subsidy savings did not appear as a separate credit labelled “subsidy savings” in the Federation Account, but represented additional resources mobilised for the three tiers of government.
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Beyond subsidy savings, the minister said the Federal Government generated ₦3.1 trillion in additional independent revenue, largely through remittances from government-owned entities and increased surpluses from government agencies.
The Federal Government also borrowed ₦11.9 trillion between June 2023 and December 2025, bringing its incremental resources from additional revenue and borrowing to ₦20.4 trillion.
However, incremental expenditure during the period stood at ₦30.64 trillion, according to Oyedele.
President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy on May 29, 2023, during his inauguration, declaring that “subsidy is gone.”
The policy immediately triggered a sharp increase in petrol prices and contributed to higher transportation, logistics and production costs, intensifying cost-of-living pressures across the country.
The Federal Government has continued to defend the policy as necessary to reduce fiscal pressure and redirect public resources towards other areas, while introducing measures such as wage adjustments, agricultural interventions and the expansion of Compressed Natural Gas initiatives.
