The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has pushed back against calls to restore the petrol subsidy, warning that doing so could divert funds from critical programmes and infrastructure.
Idris was reacting to a recent statement by Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, who said he would restore the subsidy if elected president in 2027.
“If elected, I will bring back the oil subsidy, and whoever stole the money must refund it,” Atiku had said during an interview in Hausa.
In a statement issued on Monday, August 24, by his Special Assistant on Media, Rabiu Ibrahim, Idris urged Nigerians to consider what the country would have to give up if petrol subsidies were restored.
He questioned whether Nigeria could afford to prioritise subsidising petrol over programmes such as student loans and consumer credit designed to support young people.
The minister also asked whether the country could continue increasing allocations to state and local governments while returning to a subsidy regime.
According to Idris, restoring the subsidy could reduce funds available for roads, railways, electricity and security, while limiting investment in healthcare, education and social protection.
He said Nigeria spent about $10 billion on petrol subsidies in 2022, even as oil production and government revenues were falling.
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Idris said the World Bank had previously warned that the subsidy was consuming resources that could otherwise be invested in education, healthcare, infrastructure and social protection.
The minister cited figures presented by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, who said subsidy savings had mobilised N15.8 trillion in resources for the country between June 2023 and December 2025.
Oyedele said the amount comprised N5.43 trillion for the Federal Government, N6.52 trillion for states and N3.88 trillion for local governments.
Idris, however, clarified that the N15.8 trillion did not represent a separate pool of cash but resources made available within the federation’s broader fiscal system.
He said the additional fiscal space had strengthened the ability of state and local governments to meet salary and pension obligations and fund essential services.
According to the minister, the government’s reform scorecard also showed that about N6.47 trillion had been spent additionally on strategic infrastructure.
He added that more than N400 billion had been committed to social investment programmes, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund, MREIF, and CREDICORP.
The National Orientation Agency, NOA, had also said in July that gains from petrol subsidy removal had been reinvested in social welfare programmes, including the student loan scheme.
Atiku’s proposal has reopened debate over the economic and social consequences of the subsidy removal, which remains one of the most contentious aspects of the Federal Government’s economic reforms.