Subsidy Removal: Nigeria Must Not Go Backwards, Tinubu Insists
President Bola Tinubu has defended his decision to remove the petrol subsidy, insisting that Nigeria must not return to its previous economic path, as Vice-President Kashim Shettima defended the administration’s reforms…
The removal of Nigeria's long-standing petrol subsidy was one of President Bola Tinubu's first major policy actions after taking office in May 2023, announced in his inaugural address with the declaration that "subsidy is gone." The subsidy, which had cost successive governments trillions of naira annually and was widely criticised as a drain on public finances riddled with inefficiency and alleged corruption, had for decades kept pump prices artificially low. Its removal triggered an immediate spike in fuel prices and a ripple effect across transport and food costs, deepening the cost-of-living crisis for many Nigerians and making it one of the most contentious decisions of Tinubu's presidency.
Since then, the administration has repeatedly defended the policy as a necessary, if painful, step to free up government revenue for infrastructure and social investment, pairing it with other reforms such as the unification of exchange rates. Critics, including labour unions and opposition figures, have argued the palliative measures promised to cushion the impact have been inadequate. The coverage here centres on Tinubu, backed by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, publicly reaffirming that the government has no regrets and will not reverse course, though the reports do not detail any new economic data or fresh palliative measures accompanying the statement.