Restore petrol subsidy or fund student loans, minister question critics

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has rejected calls for the restoration of petrol subsidy, saying Nigeria has moved beyond the model and warning that a return to it would reverse the economic gains recorded since its removal.

Idris said restoring the subsidy would undermine the country’s improving fiscal position, weaken investor confidence and recreate the economic pressures that made the previous regime unsustainable.

The minister stated this in an Op-Ed published in some national dailies on Monday, titled, “Restoring Fuel Subsidy Will Reverse Nigeria’s Economic Gains,” according to a statement issued by his media aide, Rabiu Ibrahim, in Abuja.

“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 argued that calls for subsidy restoration must be considered alongside the competing demands on government resources.

“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 said subsidy savings had increased the resources available to the three tiers of government, citing figures contained in the Federal Government’s recently presented “Nigeria’s Reform Scorecard: The Benefits, Costs and Harms Prevented.”

According to him, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed that subsidy savings mobilised N15.8tn in resources for the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025.

He said approximately N5.43tn accrued to the Federal Government, N6.52tn to states and N3.88tn to local governments.

Idris clarified that the N15.8tn was not a separate pool of cash, but resources released within the Federation’s wider fiscal system.

He said the increased fiscal space had strengthened the capacity of states and local governments to meet salary and pension obligations and invest in essential services, while supporting federal investments in infrastructure, security, agriculture and human capital.

“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,” Idris said.

The minister also warned that the government was already carrying a substantial electricity subsidy, estimated at N3.14tn between June 2023 and December 2025.

He said restoring petrol subsidy would therefore place an additional burden on public finances.

Idris added that the Organised Private Sector and the wider economic community had also cautioned against reversing the reform.

“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 consider the reforms in the context of the country’s long-term economic stability and the need to build a stronger and more productive economy.