The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has warned that any attempt to restore petrol subsidy would reverse Nigeria’s economic gains, weaken investor confidence and undermine the fiscal improvements recorded under the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
Idris gave the warning in an opinion article published in some national dailies on Monday, August 24, 2026, titled “Restoring Fuel Subsidy Will Reverse Nigeria’s Economic Gains.”
He said returning to the old subsidy regime would recreate the fiscal pressures, distortions, fuel scarcity and incentives for arbitrage that made the system unsustainable.
“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.
The Minister said those calling for subsidy restoration must confront the opportunity costs of such a decision.
“Do we restore petrol subsidy, or sustain student loans and consumer credit for young Nigerians?” he asked.
“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?”
He also asked: “Do we restore subsidy, or strengthen the fiscal capacity required to expand healthcare, education and social protection for vulnerable Nigerians?”
Idris recalled that Nigeria spent about $10 billion on fuel subsidies in 2022 amid declining oil production and weak revenues, while the World Bank warned that the subsidy was consuming resources that could have been deployed to education, healthcare, infrastructure and social protection.
According to Idris, the Federal Government’s recently presented Nigeria’s Reform Scorecard: The Benefits, Costs and Harms Prevented showed that subsidy savings mobilised ₦15.8 trillion in resources for the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
He said about ₦5.43 trillion accrued to the Federal Government, ₦6.52 trillion to states and ₦3.88 trillion to local governments.
Clarifying the figure, Idris said the ₦15.8 trillion 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 development.
The Minister added that the Reform Scorecard recorded approximately ₦6.47 trillion in additional expenditure on strategic infrastructure, alongside more than ₦400 billion committed to major social investment initiatives, including NELFUND, MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund, MREIF and CREDICORP.
He said social transfers had also reached more than 10 million Nigerian households.
Idris, however, noted that Nigeria was already carrying an electricity subsidy estimated at ₦3.14 trillion between June 2023 and December 2025, warning that reintroducing petrol subsidy would impose an additional burden on public finances.
He said 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,” Idris said.
He urged Nigerians to view the reforms within the context of long-term economic stability, stressing that the country must continue building “a stronger and more productive economy.”