Nigeria’s fuel subsidy removal prevents a projected ₦53 trillion subsidy bill and a potential exchange rate of about ₦3,500 to the dollar, according to Zacch Adedeji, chair of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS). Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme, Adedeji argues that ending the petrol subsidy avoids an unsustainable financial burden.
Adedeji’s remarks defend President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, which began with the end of the fuel subsidy announced in Tinubu’s May 29, 2023 inaugural address. He says Tinubu inherited an economy constrained by an expensive subsidy regime, an underperforming oil sector, and a narrow tax base. He also cites global energy market pressures and regional instability as factors that could have worsened subsidy costs if the policy had continued.
Across the outlets, the central figures and projections are the same: ₦53tn for the subsidy bill and ₦3,500 per dollar in the scenario where subsidy removal did not happen. While The Punch and Nigerian Eye frame the comments as a defense of Tinubu’s choices, Vanguard reports the claim in a more direct summary form, without additional emphasis on the broader political implications.
