Idris Warns Against Fuel Subsidy Return, Says Reversal Could Undermine Nigeria’s Economic Gains
The Honourable Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has cautioned against calls to restore Nigeria’s petrol subsidy, warning that reversing the policy could weaken the country’s improving fiscal position, undermine investor confidence and roll back gains recorded under the economic reforms of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
Idris made the position known in an Op-Ed published on Monday, August 24, 2026, titled “Restoring Fuel Subsidy Will Reverse Nigeria’s Economic Gains,” in which he outlined the fiscal benefits of subsidy removal and the potential consequences of returning to the previous regime.
According to the Minister, restoring the subsidy would recreate many of the fiscal pressures, market distortions, fuel shortages and opportunities for arbitrage that made the former system unsustainable.
He said the debate should also take into account what Nigeria would have to sacrifice to finance a renewed petrol subsidy regime.
“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?” Idris asked.
He further questioned whether the country should redirect resources away from healthcare, education and social protection for vulnerable Nigerians in order to finance petrol subsidies.
The Minister recalled that Nigeria spent about $10 billion on fuel subsidies in 2022, at a time when oil production was declining and government revenues were under pressure. He cited warnings from the World Bank that the subsidy regime was consuming resources that could otherwise have been invested in critical sectors such as education, healthcare, infrastructure and social protection.
Idris also referenced the Federal Government’s “Nigeria’s Reform Scorecard: The Benefits, Costs and Harms Prevented,” noting that the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed that subsidy savings mobilised ₦15.8 trillion for the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
He explained that about ₦5.43 trillion accrued to the Federal Government, ₦6.52 trillion to states and ₦3.88 trillion to local governments, stressing that the ₦15.8 trillion represented resources released into the wider fiscal system rather than a separate pool of cash.
According to Idris, the additional fiscal space has strengthened the ability of states and local governments to meet salary and pension obligations, provide essential services and support development projects, while also enabling the Federal Government to increase spending on infrastructure, security, agriculture and human capital.
He said the Reform Scorecard recorded approximately ₦6.47 trillion in additional expenditure on strategic infrastructure, while more than ₦400 billion was committed to major social investment initiatives, including NELFUND, the MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund, MREIF and CREDICORP.
The Minister also stated that social transfers had reached more than 10 million Nigerian households, highlighting the administration’s efforts to cushion the impact of economic reforms.
However, Idris warned that Nigeria was still carrying the burden of electricity subsidies, estimated at ₦3.14 trillion between June 2023 and December 2025. He argued that restoring petrol subsidies would place an additional strain on public finances.
He noted that the Organised Private Sector and other stakeholders in the economy had also 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,” Idris said.
The Minister urged Nigerians to assess the subsidy debate within the broader context of long-term economic stability, fiscal sustainability and the need to build a more productive and resilient Nigerian economy.
Idris Warns Against Fuel Subsidy Return, Says Reversal Could Undermine Nigeria’s Economic Gains