Calls to restore Nigeria’s petrol subsidy have been firmly rejected by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who warned that reintroducing the scheme would unravel recent economic progress.
In an opinion piece published across several national dailies on Monday, Idris argued that returning to the policy would undermine the nation’s fiscal recovery and alienate investors.
“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 noted in a statement released by his media aide, Rabiu Ibrahim.
The minister urged critics to weigh the policy against vital national priorities, questioning whether the country should return to fuel subsidies at the expense of student loans, infrastructure, healthcare, and higher allocations to state and local governments.
Citing figures from the Federal Government’s recently presented Nigeria’s Reform Scorecard, Idris highlighted that fuel subsidy savings generated ₦15.8 trillion for the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025. According to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, ₦5.43 trillion was allocated to the Federal Government, ₦6.52 trillion to states, and ₦3.88tn to local councils.
Idris clarified that these funds were integrated into the broader fiscal framework rather than held in a separate account, enabling local and state authorities to meet payroll obligations and finance public services. He pointed out that the government had directed approximately ₦6.47 trillion towards strategic infrastructure and over ₦400 billion to major social initiatives, including CREDICORP and the NELFUND student loan scheme, alongside cash transfers reaching over 10 million households.
Warning against compounding state liabilities, the minister noted that the government is already carrying an estimated ₦3.14 trillion electricity subsidy for the same period. He added that the Organised Private Sector and economic experts have similarly cautioned against rolling back the initiative.
“Nigeria cannot build tomorrow’s economy by returning to yesterday’s unsustainable subsidy regime. We have moved beyond that model,” Idris declared, urging citizens to support long-term economic stability over short-term relief.