Market News

The Federal Government has consistently defended the decision as necessary to reduce fiscal pressure and redirect public resources towards other priorities.

By Nosakhale Akhimien

The removal of petrol subsidy saved Nigeria N15.8 trillion between June 2023 and December 2025, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has said.

Oyedele disclosed this on Wednesday at a press conference, where he provided a breakdown of the financial impact of the Federal Government’s economic reforms under President Bola Tinubu.

He said the subsidy savings were reflected in the resources available to the Federation, although they did not appear as a separate credit to the Federation Account under the description “subsidy savings”.

“Between June 2023 and December 2025, subsidy savings mobilised the sum of N15.8 trillion in resources for the Federation.

“Many people will say, where is the subsidy savings? As a matter of fact, there wasn’t any alert to the Federation Account with the description ‘subsidy savings’,” Oyedele said.

According to the minister, the Federal Government received N5.4 trillion of the N15.8 trillion, while N10.4 trillion was shared among state and local governments through the Federation Account.

N3.1trn Independent Revenue, Borrowed N11.9tn

Oyedele said the government’s overall financial position during the period also reflected increased independent revenue and borrowing to fund its expenditure.

He said the Federal Government generated N3.1 trillion in incremental independent revenue, largely from remittances by government-owned entities and increased surpluses from government agencies.

The government also borrowed an additional N11.9 trillion between June 2023 and December 2025.

“People will say, you said you have exceeded your revenue, why are you still borrowing?” Oyedele said. “The additional borrowing that the Federal Government took for that period of time, June 2023 to December 2025, amounted to N11.9 trillion,” he said.

According to him, the combination of incremental independent revenue and additional borrowing brought the Federal Government’s incremental resources during the period to N20.4 trillion.

However, he said total incremental expenditure stood at N30.64 trillion.

Oyedele said the figures demonstrated the fiscal implications of the reforms, which were introduced to address long-standing economic distortions and reduce pressure on government finances.

“The administration of President Bola Tinubu has embarked on major reforms to address age-long economic challenges,” he said.

He identified the removal of petrol subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market as key measures undertaken by the administration.

“The removal of fuel subsidy, which was quietly bankrupting the country, and the unification of an exchange rate system that had become a source of distortion and corruption rather than stability.

“Those decisions came at a cost, and we are not here to implement otherwise. What does reform cost?” Oyedele said.

‘Subsidy Removal’

President Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy on May 29, 2023, during his inauguration, declaring that “subsidy is gone”.

The biting reform subsequently led to a sharp increase in petrol prices and contributed to higher transportation, logistics and production costs.

The Federal Government has consistently defended the decision as necessary to reduce fiscal pressure and redirect public resources towards other priorities.

However, the policy, alongside the naira reforms, has also contributed to significant economic hardship, with households and businesses facing increased costs of transportation and essential goods.

The government has since introduced measures aimed at cushioning the impact of the reforms, including wage adjustments, support for agriculture and the expansion of Compressed Natural Gas initiatives as an alternative to petrol-powered transportation.