Tinubu’s efforts to clean up oil industry commendable – Gov Otu

The Governor of Cross River State, Prince Bassey Otu, has praised President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to clean up Nigeria’s oil industry since he took office about a month ago.

Speaking in his office in Calabar, Otu claimed that Tinubu recognised the need to clean up the oil industry and believed that fuel subsidies should be eliminated.

The Governor assured Nigerians that the removal of the subsidy would have long-term benefits.

Otu asserted that he started his campaign against fuel subsidies in 2003 because they had produced so many millionaires with briefcases who didn’t have to work hard to get there—they could just sit around in the comfort of their own homes.

He asserted that Cross River must work together so that any palliatives implemented will lessen and ease the suffering of the populace.

“I know that every state has its own peculiarities, so we need to collaborate so that whatever palliatives are developed, we will also benefit from them,” the speaker said.

The governor also discussed salary increases, but he questioned what impact they would have given the nation’s spiralling inflation.

“I am aware that some states have proposed salary increases, which I am not against, but my concern is the economic impact that such increases will have given the fact that prices for goods and services have already skyrocketed due to the increase in fuel prices brought on by the removal of subsidies.

“Since everyone bears the brunt of this, we need to carefully develop a system that will be advantageous to all citizens, not just the civil servants.”

He urged the populace to put up with the current socioeconomic hardships while the government devised solutions to lessen the impact.

The governor said, “We must endure this suffering if we are to correct the mistake and create a sustainable economy for future generations.”