General
I Delayed Subsidy Removal to Enable Tinubu Become President—Buhari
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The immediate past president of Nigeria, Mr Muhammadu Buhari, has explained why he did not remove the payment of subsidy on the premium motor spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol when he was in power.
The government of Mr Buhari paid several trillions of Naira in fuel subsidy despite describing it as a fraud before he took over from former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.
After signing the Petroleum Industry Bill into law, Mr Buhari delayed its implementation, especially because of the part which made it illegal to pay petrol subsidy. Instead, he passed this on to his successor.
On May 29, 2023, when he handed over power to Mr Bola Tinubu, the new leader declared that subsidy for fuel was gone because his predecessor did not make provision for its payment in the 2023 budget.
On Monday, June 26, 2023, Mr Buhari, through his spokesman, Mr Garba Shehu, explained that the decision to delay the removal of the petrol subsidy was purely political.
In a note titled Buhari Didn’t Fail To Remove Subsidy, he explained that Mr Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would have lost the presidential election if it had been removed before the exercise.
“Poll after polls showed that the party would have been thrown out of office if the decision as envisaged by the new Petroleum Industry Act was made,” he said.
Read the full statement below:
Why did it take the new Tinubu/ Shettima presidency weeks to remove the petrol subsidy when Buhari didn’t do so for years fails to ask the right question.
The massive electricity subsidy. The fraudulent fertilizer subsidy. Hajj/Christian Pilgrim subsidies. Remember them?
The diesel subsidy. The aviation fuel subsidy. LPFO. Kerosene. Cooking gas and the other subsidy policies we found in place, and put them firmly on the ground. Remember them?
For those with short memories, many of those subsides were all in place when president Buhari was elected to office in 2015: all those in place were gone by May 2023 – including the annual fertilizer subsidy that weighed 60-100 billion Naira (that’s trillion naira in about 10 years – yes you read that right) heavy on the federal budget each year.
So no, Buhari didn’t remove the petrol subsidy – but in vitally important stages he removed every other budget-busting, egregious, economic-growth-crushing subsidy along the way.
So far, I have refrained from answering these repeated questions on the removal in Nigeria of subsidies on Premium Motor Spirit, PMS and that arising from the dual rates of the Naira in the Central Bank and the parallel market: Why did Buhari “fail” to do these?
First of all, my thinking is that instead of the former President answering this question, it is the Party, the All Progressives Congress, APC that is best suited to speak and failing to do this, we are forced to say what will follow here.
Secondly, we are mindful of the fact that with a Tinubu/Shettima presidency now in place and for which there is a “New Sheriff in Town.”
We do not want to distract them from the onerous tasks facing them and the nation. Neither is it our wish to take the spotlight away from them in any way.
In terms of the timings of the decisions to remove fuel subsidy and unify the currency, the Tinubu/Shettima administration has done overwhelmingly well. Even more importantly, they have been most dexterous in managing the aftermath of the decisions by successfully avoiding any crisis.
To this extent, our wish and prayers are that fellow countrymen will continue to support the new leadership in these very laudable decisions and, in particular, for the Labour leadership and civil society to work with them to ensure that the palliative efforts as promised are successfully implemented.
The decision to remove subsidies, as in our case – and we believe in all situations – was not for the President to take all by himself.
That’s why it’s important to remind ourselves – and all those who have conveniently forgotten – that Buhari administration had been on this pathway from the very beginning in 2015.
Removing subsidies for the Naira and PMS was cued and put on hold. Look for example in the Petroleum Industry Act. The important decision was kept for a better time.
It could not have come at a time when tensions were high in the country and no responsible leader would have added fuel to the fire.
In the view of many-including those in the security circles- only a new administration with a goodwill that fills a warehouse can attempt this, and here now comes in the wit and grit of the Tinubu government.
Finally, we must be politically honest with ourselves. The Buhari administration in its last days could not have gone the whole way because the APC had an election to win. And that would have been the case with any political party that was seeking election for another term with a new principal at its head.
Poll after polls showed that the party would have been thrown out of office if the decision as envisaged by the new Petroleum Industry Act was made.
With the election now behind us, a capable leader as we now have in place is best positioned to move forward. We have nothing but confidence that the new administration will carry the nation and all its constituents into a stable future in the aftermath of these major economic and financial decisions.
As they say, there are times when you have to lose in order to win.
Garba Shehu
By Faridat Yusuf
Seplat Energy says Nigeria needs cheap, reliable, and easy-to-get energy for everyone as the population is estimated to reach 237 million by 2025 and 400 million by 2050.
The Chief Operating Officer of the energy firm, Mr Samson Ezugworie, speaking at the 43rd NAPE Conference in Lagos, said, “The imperative before us is clear. We must build a prosperous Nigeria, and we can only do that with affordable and reliable energy that is accessible to all.”
The COO, in a statement issued by company’s Manager for Corporate Communications, Mr Stanley Opara, said over 70 million Nigerians still have no electricity and 170 million people use wood or other biomass for cooking, which is bad for homes and the environment.
“Today, more than 70 million Nigerians still lack access to electricity. More than 170 million people rely on biomass for cooking, and that’s terrible for the environment and for our households. And with Nigeria’s population projected to reach 237 million by 2025 and 400 million by 2050, the urgency to act is undeniable, because today’s problems will become far worse if we don’t take action now to solve them.”
“We will have 160 million more people to feed and house, and we need to create 100 million new jobs. But imagine what Nigeria can achieve if we do?” he queried.
He noted that Seplat Energy was working to produce more oil and gas. They are fixing wells, delivering gas from the ANOH Plant, and sending LPG from Sapele Plant.
“Our progress on gas initiatives like anoh, sapele, and lpg shipments is a testament to our commitment to nigeria’s prosperity. these projects are not just about energy; they are about transforming lives and powering nigeria’s development,” Mr Ezugworie said, adding that Nigerians should manage Nigeria’s resources and work with communities to build a stronger energy industry.
“We must also harness our huge reserves of gas and scale up gas and NGL production to expand domestic energy access, displace polluting imported generators, provide clean cooking for our people, and power our basic industries to support our national growth,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is working with its US and British counterparts to investigate the origins of a $235 million cocaine shipment seized at Tincan Port in Lagos, in one of the country’s largest drug seizures.
NDLEA said in a statement signed by its spokesman, Mr Femi Babafemi, on Tuesday that it was working with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to investigate after 1,000 kg of cocaine was discovered in an empty container at a terminal in Tin Can over the past weekend.
PTML operators, who noticed the consignment in an empty container, invited port stakeholders, including the NDLEA, Customs, and other security agencies, for a joint examination.
The drugs were formally handed over to the NDLEA on Tuesday after tests confirmed the substance was cocaine.
“After field tests confirmed the shipment to be cocaine, the consignment was formally transferred to NDLEA custody for further investigation on Tuesday, 11 November 2025,” Mr Babafemi said.
The operation followed collaborative engagements between NDLEA Chairman/CEO Mr Mohamed Buba Marwa and the Comptroller General of Customs, Mr Adewale Adeniyi.
“Due to the large quantity of the recovered Class A drug, valued at over $235 million (approximately N338 billion) on the international market, and the global dimension of the cocaine cartel, I directed that our leading international partners be involved in the investigation,” Mr Marwa said.
He revealed that officers from the US-DEA and UK-NCA have already joined the probe, focusing on ensuring all aspects of the operation are covered and that the masterminds behind the consignment are brought to justice worldwide.
“The essence of collaborating with our international partners on this case is to ensure no stone is left unturned, so that every perpetrator of this massive consignment is held accountable, wherever they are located,” Mr Marwa added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The World Bank has lamented that Nigeria spends barely 0.14 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on social protection.
This is contained in a new report titled The State of Social Safety Nets in Nigeria, where the bank revealed that the 0.14 per cent estimate is far below the global average of 1.5 per cent and the Sub-Saharan African average of 1.1 per cent.
The report warns that the miniscule allocation has had “almost no impact” on poverty.
The combined effect of all existing social protection programmes in the country has reduced the national poverty headcount by just 0.4 percentage points, it noted.
The November 2025 report examines Nigeria’s spending on social safety nets, assessing their coverage and efficiency, and reveals how poor targeting, weak funding, and fragmented implementation have left millions of vulnerable citizens without meaningful relief despite the government’s lofty poverty-reduction promises.
Business Post reports that the federal government has spent billions over the years to cushion hardship with initiatives like cash transfer programme which it claims has reached 15 million households. Other schemes, like the school feeding programme only cover a limited number of schools.
The World Bank report says these Nigeria’s social safety-net programmes are failing to reach those who need them the most.
According to the bank, while about 56 per cent of the recipients of safety-net programmes are poor, they receive only 44 per cent of the total benefits. It explained that this imbalance stems from the way most programmes, including the National Social Safety Nets Programme (NASSNP), allocate a fixed amount per household rather than per person.
As a result, poor families, often larger in size, end up sharing limited benefits among more members. The report noted that initiatives such as the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), which focus on individuals rather than households, are less affected by this problem.
However, it added that the school feeding scheme currently targets only pupils in grades one to three and lacks full national coverage, restricting the number of children who can benefit.
The World Bank also expressed concern over Nigeria’s heavy dependence on foreign donors to finance its social safety nets. It examined that between 2015 and 2021, official development assistance accounted for about 60 per cent of federal spending on safety-net programmes, with the World Bank providing over 90 per cent of that support.
The report cautioned that this dependence puts Nigeria at risk of funding gaps whenever donor support declines.
“There is an urgent need for Nigeria to find fiscal space for sustainable social safety-net programming,” the bank warned.
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