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Shettima disclosed this on Friday during a courtesy visit by state governors to the President at his Lagos residence, where they gathered to mark Eid el-Kabir and the third anniversary of the administration.
He said the President had already made up his mind on the subsidy removal but chose not to include it in his speech because he anticipated possible pushback.
According to him, Tinubu understood that publicly announcing the decision at the inauguration could have opened it up to pressure that might have altered its course.
“Your Excellency, the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy, you kept it a top secret; it wasn’t part of your speech,” Shettima said.
“It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. You had made that decision and kept it close to your heart because you believed if you had incorporated it into your speech, some people would try to persuade you not to do so.”
Shettima described the move as a demonstration of leadership courage, adding that it reflected boldness and foresight in governance.
Defending the administration’s reforms, the Vice President said Tinubu assumed office at a time when Nigeria required deep structural adjustments rather than incremental fixes.
He said the government had chosen to confront long-standing economic challenges rather than delay difficult decisions, describing the process as a painful but necessary national reset.
Shettima further argued that the administration was not merely running government affairs but undertaking what he called a fundamental restructuring of the country’s economic foundation.
“You did not come to power at the season of ease. You came at a time when the house required more than a painter. It required a builder with the courage to examine the foundation. You inherited a nation standing before difficult questions, a nation trapped between the comfort of old illusions and the necessity of a new beginning. In that defining hour, you choose not to postpone the surgery. You choose not to massage the wound.
“You choose to confront the contradictions that have held this country hostage for 50 years. That, Mr President, is the miracle of your courage. What you have done is not simply to administer a government. You have begun the difficult work of re-engineering a nation. It’s not a banquet. It is a battlefield. It is not a picnic for the pain-hearted. It is a covenant with the future.”
