The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has said that the removal of fuel subsidy was a reset the country sorely needed despite the short-term rise in poverty and hardship experienced by many Nigerians.
He asserted that the economic reforms embarked upon by the President Bola Tinubu government were borne out of the need to “stop deceiving ourselves” and put the country on a sustainable path.
A series of videos posted by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Tinubu, on Thursday, captured Oyedele saying this while fielding questions and addressing an audience during an event organised by the National Orientation Agency (NOA).
He explained that the reforms were yet to be felt in real time because the economy was undergoing a reset after the removal of the controversial fuel subsidy.
“The question that you raised that poverty has gone up and the unemployment rate is high- this is one area I tend to disagree with the World Bank. World Bank would say that poverty has gone up despite the reforms.
“And I say, yes, poverty has gone up because you cannot remove subsidy and people become richer, right?
“The reform itself was a reset. We were living in fiscal illusions. So we needed to stop deceiving ourselves so the country can move forward, and that reset meant that income in that term will fall”, he said.
Oyedele, however, noted that the economy had started to show signs of recovery as of 2025.
“But the good thing is that good news is that the numbers for 2025 in dollar terms say that real per capita growth was nearly 10 per cent.
“That makes Nigeria one of the fastest countries in lifting people out of poverty. The federal government intends to sustain the growth,” he said.
He also addressed lingering concerns about how the Federal Government had so far utilised the subsidy savings.
After acknowledging the concerns as a positive step in the right direction, the Minister further highlighted some of the areas where part of the subsidy funds had been deployed.
“The whereabouts of the subsidy savings is a valid question. And guess what, the combined impact of the subsidy on fuel, I like to call it subsidy on FX, was about 5 per cent of the GDP.
“So you remove both, you save money. But saving money was not the primary objective. It was eliminating the distortion and corruption in the system, which is more fundamental. But the money savings is also important. So where has the money gone to?
“In a few days you will see the detailed analysis because we believe that we owe a duty to explain what we do to the Nigerian people – that’s what transparency looks like. But in the meantime, I can give you some of the highlights.”
