The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has said President Bola Tinubu prioritised Nigeria’s economic recovery over political considerations when he removed the fuel subsidy in 2023.
Alake made the statement on Wednesday in Abuja during an interactive session with members of the All Progressives Congress Press Corps.
According to the minister, successive administrations recognised the need to end the subsidy but repeatedly postponed the decision because of fears that it could affect their electoral fortunes.
He said Tinubu, unlike his predecessors, was willing to bear the political consequences of the decision in the interest of the country.
Alake said, “There is no shortcut to genuine reforms. I do not need to elaborate on the fact that we knew what the Nigerian economy was before 2023.”
He added that previous governments lacked the political courage to implement difficult reforms because they were concerned about elections.
“But somebody came and decided to swallow the bitter pill, to take the bullets on behalf of Nigerians,” he said.
The minister argued that the former subsidy arrangement largely benefited fuel cartels and wealthy Nigerians, while depriving the government of funds that could have been invested in infrastructure and other productive areas.
According to him, fuel smugglers took advantage of the subsidised prices by purchasing petroleum products cheaply in Nigeria and selling them across neighbouring borders at higher prices.
He said, “So the beneficiaries of the fuel subsidy were the oil cartels. They would buy the fuel at a lower price, cross the border, and immediately, they make humongous profits.”
Alake also recalled that the subsidy burden had contributed to financial difficulties for governments, with some states struggling to pay workers’ salaries.
He said the removal of the subsidy was bound to face resistance from groups that had benefited from the previous arrangement.
“When fuel subsidy was removed, did you think that they would fold their arms and be looking? No! They will fight back. They will push back,” he stated.
The minister acknowledged that the reforms had caused hardship for Nigerians but argued that major economic reforms required time before their benefits could become fully visible.
He said government policies could not deliver instant results because they required planning, mobilisation of resources, implementation and monitoring.
Alake urged Nigerians to remain patient with the reforms, insisting that the Tinubu administration’s policies were already producing positive results despite the challenges associated with them.
President Tinubu announced the removal of the fuel subsidy on May 29, 2023, during his inauguration, a decision that subsequently contributed to higher fuel prices and increased living costs.
The subsidy issue is expected to remain a major campaign topic ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with different political candidates taking varying positions on whether the policy should be retained, reversed or restructured.
