The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has warned that reinstating petrol subsidy could weaken Nigeria’s improving fiscal position, discourage investors and reverse economic gains achieved under President Bola Tinubu’s reform programme.
Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy shortly after taking office in May 2023, arguing that the decision was necessary to address the country’s worsening fiscal challenges.
In an opinion article published in national newspapers on Monday, August 24, 2026, titled *“Restoring Fuel Subsidy Will Reverse Nigeria’s Economic Gains,”* Idris said returning to the former subsidy system would recreate the fiscal pressures, market distortions, fuel shortages and opportunities for arbitrage that made the policy unsustainable.
He urged Nigerians to consider what other areas of the economy could lose funding if the government were to resume subsidising petrol.
According to the minister, the choice is whether to spend scarce public resources on petrol subsidies or continue funding initiatives such as student loans, consumer credit, infrastructure, security, healthcare, education and social protection.
Idris recalled that Nigeria spent roughly $10 billion on fuel subsidies in 2022, even as crude oil production declined and government revenues came under pressure.
He noted that the World Bank had previously warned that the subsidy was consuming funds that could have been invested in critical sectors including healthcare, education, infrastructure and social welfare.
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, reported that subsidy savings generated about ₦15.8 trillion in resources for the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
The amount, he explained, 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 did not represent a separate cash reserve but reflected resources freed up across the federation’s broader fiscal system after subsidy removal.
He said the additional fiscal space had helped state and local governments meet salary and pension obligations while allowing increased federal spending on infrastructure, security, agriculture and human capital development.
The minister added that about ₦6.47 trillion had been spent on strategic infrastructure, while more than ₦400 billion had gone into major social investment programmes, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund and CreditCorp.
He also disclosed that social transfers had reached more than 10 million Nigerian households.
However, Idris acknowledged that the government continued to shoulder a substantial electricity subsidy, estimated at ₦3.14 trillion between June 2023 and December 2025.
He warned that bringing back petrol subsidy would place further pressure on public finances and make it harder for the government to consolidate the gains of its ongoing reforms.
According to him, organised private-sector groups and other economic stakeholders have similarly cautioned against reversing the reforms.
Idris maintained that Nigeria must focus on building a sustainable economy rather than returning to a subsidy regime that had previously placed significant pressure on government finances.
He urged Nigerians to assess the Tinubu administration’s reforms from the perspective of long-term economic stability, productivity and fiscal resilience, rather than focusing solely on their immediate challenges.
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