Former Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Bayelsa State, Engineer Udengs Eradiri, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to bypass state governors and channel subsidy removal funds directly to development agencies across the country.

Eradiri said routing the funds through agencies would ensure that the benefits of subsidy removal reach Nigerians faster and support the actualisation of the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Speaking on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Alternative Conflict Resolution programme organised by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Port Harcourt, Eradiri argued that the current practice of sending the funds to governors has failed to achieve the desired impact.

He explained that development agencies were established by the Federal Government to perform some of the functions of state governments in their respective regions and should be empowered to utilise such funds effectively.

“I call on President Tinubu, as part of actualising the Renewed Hope Agenda, to urgently redirect excess money from the subsidy removal to development agencies covering all the geopolitical zones. The Presidency can then supervise them to ensure that the subsidy gains get to the masses and solve their problems.

“When these funds are sent to the governors as is currently being done, the President has no control over how they are spent. This is why conflicts persist and citizens complain of not enjoying the dividends of democracy,” he stated.

Eradiri further suggested that if it is not feasible to channel all the funds to agencies, the Federal Government should consider splitting the allocation.

“If the President cannot redirect all the money, he can divide it into two, 50 per cent to governors and local government chairmen, and the remaining 50 per cent to development agencies. These agencies were set up to perform part of the duties of the governors. With proper supervision from the Presidency, they will ensure the money reaches the grassroots,” he added.