The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has warned against calls to restore petrol subsidy, saying a return to the old regime could undermine Nigeria’s improving fiscal position and reverse gains from the economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
President Tinubu ended the petrol subsidy regime upon assuming office in May 2023, a move that has remained a major component of the Federal Government’s economic reform programme.
In an Op-Ed published in national newspapers on Monday, August 24, 2026, titled “Restoring Fuel Subsidy Will Reverse Nigeria’s Economic Gains,” Idris outlined the fiscal benefits of subsidy removal and the potential economic consequences of reversing the policy.
According to the Minister, restoring the subsidy would recreate the fiscal pressures, market distortions, fuel scarcity and arbitrage incentives associated with the previous system.
“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,” Idris said.
He argued that supporters of subsidy restoration must consider what the government would have to sacrifice to finance the policy.
“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?” he asked.
Idris also questioned whether Nigeria could restore petrol subsidy while maintaining its ability to expand healthcare, education and social protection programmes for vulnerable citizens.
The Minister recalled that Nigeria spent about $10 billion on fuel subsidies in 2022, at a time when the country was experiencing declining oil production and weak revenues.
He said the World Bank had previously warned that the subsidy was consuming resources that could otherwise have been directed towards education, healthcare, infrastructure and social protection.
Citing the Federal Government’s “Nigeria’s Reform Scorecard: The Benefits, Costs and Harms Prevented,” Idris said Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed that subsidy savings mobilised ₦15.8 trillion in resources for the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
He explained that the amount comprised approximately ₦5.43 trillion for the Federal Government, ₦6.52 trillion for states and ₦3.88 trillion for local governments.
Idris clarified that the ₦15.8 trillion was not a separate pool of cash but represented resources released within the Federation’s broader fiscal system following the removal of the subsidy.
According to the Minister, the additional fiscal space has strengthened the ability of states and local governments to meet salary and pension obligations and invest in essential services.
He added that the savings have also supported federal investments in infrastructure, security, agriculture and human capital development.
The Reform Scorecard, he said, recorded approximately ₦6.47 trillion in additional expenditure on strategic infrastructure, while more than ₦400 billion was committed to major social investment initiatives, including NELFUND, the MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF) and CREDICORP.
Idris further said social transfers had reached more than 10 million Nigerian households.
However, he noted that the government was already facing a significant fiscal burden from electricity subsidies, estimated at ₦3.14 trillion between June 2023 and December 2025.
He warned that reintroducing petrol subsidy would add another major burden to public finances and potentially undermine the progress made through the ongoing reforms.
The Minister also said the Organised Private Sector and the wider economic community had cautioned against reversing the subsidy reform.
“Nigeria cannot build tomorrow’s economy by returning to yesterday’s unsustainable subsidy regime. We have moved beyond that model,” Idris said.
He urged Nigerians to assess the reforms from the perspective of long-term economic stability, arguing that sustaining the changes would be necessary to build a stronger, more productive and financially sustainable economy.
