The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has warned against calls to restore petrol subsidy, saying such a move could undermine Nigeria’s improving finances and reverse gains recorded under President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms.
Idris said returning to the former subsidy regime could weaken investor confidence, revive fuel scarcity and create opportunities for arbitrage.
The minister made the remarks in an opinion article published in national newspapers on Monday, titled, “Restoring Fuel Subsidy Will Reverse Nigeria’s Economic Gains.”
In a statement issued by his media aide, Rabiu Ibrahim, in Abuja, Idris said Nigerians needed to consider the wider costs of restoring petrol subsidy.
“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,” he said.
He asked whether Nigeria should restore petrol subsidy at the expense of funding student loans, consumer credit, infrastructure, security, healthcare, education and social protection.
Idris recalled that Nigeria spent about $10bn on fuel subsidies in 2022 amid declining oil production and weak revenues.
Citing the Federal Government’s Reform Scorecard, he said subsidy savings released N15.8tn in resources to the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
According to him, the Federal Government received about N5.43tn, states received N6.52tn, and local governments received N3.88tn.
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He said the additional fiscal space had helped governments meet salary and pension obligations and fund infrastructure, security, agriculture and human capital development.
Idris added that more than N400bn had been committed to major social investment programmes, while social transfers had reached over 10 million households.
He also warned that Nigeria was already spending about N3.14tn on electricity subsidies between June 2023 and December 2025.
“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 based on their long-term impact on the economy and the need to build a stronger and more productive country.
