The Federal Government has warned that bringing back petrol subsidy could undo the economic gains recorded since the implementation of President Bola Tinubu’s reforms.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said restoring the subsidy would put fresh pressure on government finances, discourage investors and recreate some of the economic distortions associated with the former regime.
Idris made the position known in an opinion article published in national newspapers on Monday, titled *“Restoring Fuel Subsidy Will Reverse Nigeria’s Economic Gains.”* His Media Aide, Rabiu Ibrahim, issued the statement in Abuja.
The minister said the country could not afford to return to a system that had placed a huge strain on public finances while creating incentives for arbitrage and contributing to fuel scarcity.
“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 challenged advocates of subsidy restoration to consider what 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?
“Do we restore subsidy, or strengthen the fiscal capacity required to expand healthcare, education and social protection for vulnerable Nigerians?” he asked.
Idris recalled that Nigeria spent about $10 billion on fuel subsidy in 2022, at a time when crude oil production was falling and government revenues were under pressure.
He said the World Bank had also warned that the money spent on subsidy could instead have been channelled into critical areas such as healthcare, education, infrastructure and social protection.
According to the minister, the government’s *Nigeria’s Reform Scorecard: The Benefits, Costs and Harms Prevented* showed that subsidy savings generated N15.8 trillion in resources for the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
He said the amount comprised about N5.43 trillion for the Federal Government, N6.52 trillion for states and N3.88 trillion for local governments.
Idris clarified that the N15.8 trillion did not represent a separate cash reserve but resources made available through the wider fiscal system following the removal of the subsidy.
He said the additional fiscal space had helped states and local governments meet salary and pension obligations while enabling investment in essential services.
At the federal level, he said, the resources had supported spending on infrastructure, security, agriculture and human capital development.
“The Reform Scorecard recorded approximately N6.47 trillion in additional expenditure on strategic infrastructure, alongside more than N400 billion committed to major social investment initiatives, including NELFUND, MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund, MREIF and CREDICORP.
“In contrast, social transfers have reached more than 10 million Nigerian households.”
The minister also pointed to the cost of electricity subsidies, which he put at N3.14 trillion between June 2023 and December 2025.
He warned that adding petrol subsidy to the existing burden would further weaken government finances.
Idris said the Organised Private Sector and other economic stakeholders had similarly 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.
He urged Nigerians to assess the reforms from a long-term perspective, arguing that sustaining them was necessary to build a more productive and financially stable economy.
