Tinubu Defends Petrol Subsidy Removal Amid Opposition Proposals

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu continues to defend the 2023 removal of Nigeria's petrol subsidy, asserting the move saved the country from imminent bankruptcy and fiscal collapse. The administration reports macroeconomic gains, including N15.8 trillion in savings between June 2023 and December 2025 and increased foreign reserves. To mitigate surging transportation costs and inflation, the government has promoted compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles and established a joint federal-state committee to lower fares by October 1, 2026.

Opposition figures are leveraging the resulting economic hardship to propose alternative policies for the 2027 elections. Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress proposes a production subsidy that would provide preferential crude prices to domestic refineries rather than importing fuel. John Oyegun, an ADC chieftain, argues that the government's primary error was removing the subsidy without first addressing systemic corruption, claiming this failure is increasing support for Abubakar.

While Peter Obi supports the removal in principle, he accuses the administration of mismanaging the recovered funds, which he argues should have been invested in healthcare and sovereign wealth funds. Conversely, All Progressives Congress chieftain Olatunbosun Oyintiloye maintains that the reform was a strategic necessity, citing the N4.39 trillion spent on subsidies in 2022 as an unsustainable burden. He points to the Dangote Refinery as evidence that the policy is successfully encouraging domestic refining capacity.