The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has cautioned against calls to restore petrol subsidy, saying a return to the old regime could undermine Nigeria’s improving fiscal position, weaken investor confidence and reverse the gains of the economic reforms of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Rabiu Ibrahim, the Minister reacted to an Op-Ed published on Monday, August 24, 2026, in some national dailies, titled “Restoring Fuel Subsidy Will Reverse Nigeria’s Economic Gains.”
Idris said proponents of subsidy restoration must consider its real opportunity costs, asking Nigerians to choose between restoring petrol subsidy and sustaining student loans and consumer credit for young Nigerians, or restoring subsidy and maintaining higher allocations to states and local governments.
The Minister further warned that restoring the subsidy could affect funding for roads, rail, power and security, while also weakening the fiscal capacity required to expand healthcare, education and social protection for vulnerable Nigerians.
He recalled that in 2022, amid declining oil production and weak revenues, Nigeria spent about 10 billion dollars on fuel subsidies, while the World Bank warned that the subsidy was consuming resources that could otherwise have supported education, healthcare, infrastructure and social protection.
Citing the Federal Government’s recently presented “Nigeria’s Reform Scorecard: The Benefits, Costs and Harms Prevented,” Idris said the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed that subsidy savings mobilised 15.8 trillion naira in resources for the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
He explained that about 5.43 trillion naira accrued to the Federal Government, 6.52 trillion naira to states and 3.88 trillion naira to local governments.
Idris clarified that the 15.8 trillion naira was not a separate pool of cash, but represented resources released within the Federation’s wider fiscal system.
According to the Minister, the increased fiscal space has strengthened the capacity of states and local governments to meet salary and pension obligations and invest in essential services, while supporting major Federal Government investments in infrastructure, security, agriculture and human capital.
He said the Reform Scorecard also recorded about 6.47 trillion naira in additional expenditure on strategic infrastructure, alongside more than 400 billion naira committed to major social investment initiatives, including NELFUND, MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund, MREIF and CREDICORP.
The Minister added that social transfers have reached more than 10 million Nigerian households.
Idris also noted that Nigeria was already carrying an electricity subsidy estimated at 3.14 trillion naira 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 reforms.
The Minister urged Nigerians to view the reforms within the context of the country’s long-term economic stability, stressing the need to build a stronger, more productive and sustainable economy.