President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of the Infrastructure Support Fund (ISF) for states as part of measures to cushion the effects of the petrol subsidy removal on Nigerians.

A statement by the president’s spokesman Dele Alake said the approval was disclosed at the monthly meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee on Thursday in Abuja.

He said the new Fund would enable states to intervene and invest in the critical areas of transportation, including farm-to-market road improvements, agriculture, livestock, and ranching solutions.

Other areas are health, education, power and water resources to improve economic competitiveness, create jobs and deliver economic prosperity for Nigerians.

Mr Alake also mentioned that the committee resolved to save a portion of the monthly distributable proceeds to minimise the impact of the increased revenues occasioned by the subsidy removal and exchange rate unification-on money supply, as well as inflation and the exchange rate.

He said out of the June distributable revenue of N1.9 trillion, only N907 billion would be shared among the three tiers of government, while N790 billion would be saved, and the rest for statutory deductions.

He explained that these savings would complement the efforts of the ISF and other existing and planned fiscal measures aimed at ensuring a tangible improvement in the lives of Nigerians.

Mr Alake said the committee commended Mr Tinubu for the bold decision to remove the petrol subsidy and for supporting the states to cushion the effects of the removal. 

(NAN)