The Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, has said Nigeria’s petrol subsidy bill could have risen to about ₦53 trillion, with the exchange rate weakening to ₦3,500 to the dollar, had the subsidy remained in place.
Adedeji made the claim in an exclusive interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme while defending President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms.
He described the removal of petrol subsidy as the best thing to have happened to Nigeria, saying the decision had contributed to the positive economic outcomes being recorded by the government. He argued that all the positive results he was about to outline stemmed from that courageous decision, insisting it was not a mistake but rather the best thing that had happened to the country, describing subsidy as an evil that had persisted in Nigeria for decades.
Adedeji said Tinubu inherited an economy characterised by an unsustainable subsidy regime, an underperforming oil sector and a narrow tax base. He argued that retaining the subsidy would have placed a greater burden on the country’s finances, particularly amid pressures from the global energy market and the Iran crisis. According to him, the subsidy bill could have reached about ₦53 trillion, while the exchange rate could have risen to ₦3,500 to the dollar.
The NRS chairman also defended the government’s exchange-rate reforms and urged Nigerians to assess the administration’s economic decisions without relying on emotions. He said those seeking to challenge the Tinubu administration ahead of the 2027 elections should explain how they would address the country’s economic challenges differently. He argued that the President deserved support and commendation for being a statesman rather than a politician, challenging anyone considering a presidential run to explain what they would do differently, and questioning whether critics believed it was wrong to remove fuel subsidy or to unify the exchange rate.
Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy in his inaugural address on May 29, 2023, triggering a sharp increase in petrol prices and contributing to higher transportation, food and production costs. Tinubu had announced at the time that fuel subsidy was gone.
The policy has also contributed to increased government revenues and higher allocations to the three tiers of government through the Federation Account, while its impact on the cost of living has remained a major concern, the NRS boss noted.
