Information Minister Warns Against Calls to Restore Petrol Subsidy

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Mohammed Idris, has cautioned against calls to restore petrol subsidy, warning that a return to the old regime would undermine Nigeria’s improving fiscal position and reverse gains recorded under the economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Mr Idris gave the warning in an Op-Ed published on Monday, August 24, 2026, in some national newspapers, titled Restoring Fuel Subsidy Will Reverse Nigeria’s Economic Gains, where he outlined the fiscal benefits of subsidy removal and the economic risks associated with reversing the policy.

The call came after the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr Atiku Abubakar, said he would restore subsidy if elected president in the forthcoming 2027 elections.

The Minister said restoring the subsidy would recreate the fiscal pressures, distortions, fuel scarcity and arbitrage incentives that made the former system unsustainable.

“Restoring subsidy would almost instantly return Nigeria to the economic conditions of 2022, recreating the same fiscal pressures, distortions, scarcity and incentives for arbitrage that made the old system unsustainable,” Mr Idris said.

He argued that proponents of subsidy restoration must consider what government would have to sacrifice to finance the policy, particularly as the country seeks to consolidate its economic recovery.

“Do we restore petrol subsidy, or sustain student loans and consumer credit for young Nigerians? Do we restore subsidy, or preserve higher allocations to states and local governments? Do we restore subsidy, or continue funding roads, rail, power and security? Do we restore subsidy, or strengthen the fiscal capacity required to expand healthcare, education and social protection for vulnerable Nigerians?” he quipped.

Mr Idris claimed that Nigeria spent about $10 billion on fuel subsidies in 2022 alone amid declining oil production and weak government revenues.

He said the World Bank had warned at the time that the subsidy was consuming resources that could otherwise have been deployed to education, healthcare, infrastructure and social protection.

Citing the Federal Government’s recently presented Nigeria’s Reform Scorecard: The Benefits, Costs and Harms Prevented, the Minister said the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed that savings from subsidy removal mobilised N15.8 trillion in resources for the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025.

According to Mr Idris, about N5.43 trillion accrued to the federal government, N6.52 trillion to states and N3.88 trillion to local governments.

He clarified that the N15.8 trillion did not represent a separate pool of cash but resources released within the wider fiscal system of the federation.

The Minister said the increased fiscal space had strengthened the ability of states and local governments to meet salary and pension obligations and invest in essential services, while enabling the Federal Government to support investments in infrastructure, security, agriculture and human capital development.

He added that the Reform Scorecard recorded approximately N6.47 trillion in additional expenditure on strategic infrastructure, while more than N400 billion had been committed to major social investment initiatives, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF) and the Nigeria Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP).

Mr Idris also said social transfers had reached more than 10 million Nigerian households.

However, he noted that the government was already carrying a substantial electricity subsidy, estimated at N3.14 trillion between June 2023 and December 2025, warning that reintroducing petrol subsidy would place an additional burden on public finances.

The Minister said the Organised Private Sector and the wider economic community had also cautioned against reversing the reforms.

“Nigeria cannot build tomorrow’s economy by returning to yesterday’s unsustainable subsidy regime. We have moved beyond that model,” he said.

Mr Idris urged Nigerians to assess the reforms within the broader context of the country’s long-term economic stability, stressing the need to build a stronger, more productive and financially sustainable economy.

The Minister maintained that preserving the gains from subsidy removal remained critical to strengthening Nigeria’s fiscal capacity and sustaining investments in key sectors of the economy.