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The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has cautioned against calls to restore the petrol subsidy.
Idris says a return to the old regime would undermine Nigeria‘s improving fiscal position, weaken investor confidence and reverse gains from economic reforms.
In an Op-Ed published on Monday, Idris outlined the fiscal benefits of subsidy removal and warned of the difficult trade-offs the country would face if the policy were reintroduced.
“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.
Idris said proponents of subsidy restoration must confront its real opportunity costs.
“Do we restore petrol subsidy, or sustain student loans and consumer credit for young Nigerians? 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 asked.
“Do we restore subsidy, or strengthen the fiscal capacity required to expand healthcare, education and social protection for vulnerable Nigerians?” he added.
The minister cited the National Government’s “Nigeria’s Reform Scorecard: The Benefits, Costs and Harms Prevented,” which showed that subsidy savings mobilised N15.8 trillion in resources for the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
Idris said approximately N5.43 trillion accrued to the National Government, N6.52 trillion to states, and N3.88 trillion to local governments.
He explained that the N15.8 trillion was not a separate pool of cash but resources released within the Federation’s wider fiscal system.
According to Idris, the increased fiscal space has strengthened states’ and local governments’ capacity to meet salary and pension obligations and invest in essential services.
The minister said the Reform Scorecard recorded approximately N6.47 trillion in additional expenditure on strategic infrastructure, alongside more than N400 billion committed to major social investment initiatives, including NELFUND, MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund and CREDICORP.
He noted that social transfers have reached more than 10 million Nigerian households.
Idris added that Nigeria was already carrying an electricity subsidy estimated at N3.14 trillion between June 2023 and December 2025, warning that reintroducing petrol subsidy would impose an additional burden on public finances.
He noted that 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.
