On May 29, 2023, Fuel Subsidy Was Gone — and Nigerians Were Told
Overnight, in one sentence and one policy, Nigerians received the gutsiest punch of their lives regarding a critical life-support measure. The pump price of PMS jumped from ₦185 to over ₦500. Today, petrol sells for well over ₦1,000. Transportation costs tripled. Food prices skyrocketed. Gradually, small businesses began collapsing like a pack of cards. Even government ministries, parastatals, and agencies suffered — and are still suffering — from low productivity borne out of low morale among workers who could not, and still cannot, realistically afford the daily cost of transportation.
Less than six months into this ill-thought-out policy, millions were forced below the poverty line. The savings or gains from this draconian measure did not achieve their stated goals or translate into relief for those hardest hit. What we got instead was hyperinflation of a kind never before seen, with black marketers returning to our streets.
As the negative effects of subsidy removal took an ever-deeper toll on the lives of Nigerians, the government maintained its hard stance: the subsidy remains removed. “Government is raking in trillions,” they say. “The economy is growing. The economy is being brought back to life.” Except that for the everyday Nigerian, life expectancy is growing shorter. Nigeria is now populated by a sick and ailing populace who can barely afford ordinary malaria drugs, let alone prescription medication.
Now the 2027 elections are before us. The ruling party appears resolute in policies that have failed to deliver on promises to make Nigeria a prosperous nation, while opposition candidates are offering new ideas. This brings me to the very essence of this article.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, flagbearer of the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC), has offered to bring back the fuel subsidy. His position is fully in tandem with that of the millions of hungry Nigerians, including this author. I had always believed that the removal of fuel subsidy was a joke taken too far — one that could not stand the test of time. I was damn right. Nigerians are dying of hunger, deprivation, incomprehensibly high drug costs, and insecurity, all exacerbated by hyperinflation — even as the government denies it. These are obvious facts about the living conditions of ordinary people in Nigeria.
Let us be clear: In principle, Atiku was never against fuel subsidy removal. He had always maintained that it should not be done in one fell swoop, as President Tinubu announced on 29 May 2023. At the Lagos Business School 2022 Alumni Day (aired on Channels TV Town Hall), Atiku stated that subsidy removal was inevitable and pledged to address it within his first 100 days in office — not on day one.
Referencing his time as Vice President and Chairman of the Committee on Subsidy Removal (1999–2007), Atiku recounted how fuel subsidy removal was achieved in phases, and only after palliatives had been put in place to cushion the impact on those most affected. He also promised that the proceeds would be channelled back into the economy to develop other sectors. For me, this is a policy that shows a proper understanding of what policy-making should be — not the knee-jerk actions and voodoo economic style of governance we are being served daily by the current administration.
Recall that as an opposition leader (now President), Tinubu, in an article published in The Nation on 11 January 2012, labelled President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of oil subsidy as “breaking the social contract with the people” and “Jonathan’s tax.” He argued vociferously: “The removal of fuel subsidy would make people become enslaved to greater misery, and… has tossed the people into the depths of the midnight sea. By that the Government demands that people swim to safety under their own power, claiming the attendant hardship will build character and add efficiency to the national economy.”
President Tinubu, you were absolutely correct then. Millions of Nigerians believed you and cheered your stance. The question remains: was your position during the Jonathan administration borne out of desperation to gain power, or a serious demonstration of ignorance about Nigeria’s economy?
Tinubu’s alternative policy then was that if subsidy must be removed at all, it must never be done in one fell swoop. Rather, it should be done in calibrated phases, with the promised gains measured and confirmed before moving to the next stage. He argued that government should either restore the subsidy or use the funds for social programmes first, then lift the subsidy gradually. News flash: the APC-led Tinubu administration has breached the social contract it once claimed to defend.
The government often brags about fuel subsidy removal. Yet in 2024, reports revealed that ₦3.6 trillion was spent in 2023 (the year Tinubu was sworn in), with ₦5.4 trillion also projected for 2024. Little wonder Atiku has repeatedly asked: Where is the money? What is consuming it? The removal was intended to reduce poverty. It seems they are simply stealing it. Atiku is not alone in this view; his voice just happens to be louder than most.
If the government is secretly paying subsidy while millions of Nigerians writhe in pain under a harsh economy, then the government is deceiving its people. Pure and simple.
Atiku’s proposal to return the fuel subsidy if elected in 2027 portrays him as a leader exercising common-sense governance. This is his humane side. I would dare to nickname him the Philosopher King.
Atiku’s declaration is not about returning to corruption. It is purely about survival for the teeming population. It is about crashing transport and food costs within weeks, not months. It is about protecting the vulnerable millions thrown into poverty by a single sentence. Above all, it is about restoring human dignity and the people’s confidence in their leaders. Nigerians are not in a condition to wait for long-term economic revival plans. They must first be alive and healthy enough to exercise the civic responsibilities the Constitution has bestowed on them.
The 2027 elections must therefore be about the living and about their welfare. We agree with Atiku: the fuel subsidy must return.
Signed:
Hauwa L. Yusuf
No. 3, Marrakesh, Wuse II
Abuja.
