Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has defended the removal of the petrol subsidy, saying it had become a drain on Nigeria’s finances and was diverting funds meant for critical infrastructure and public services.
Sanwo-Olu stated this on Thursday at the Freedom Online 7th Annual Lecture, according to his Senior Special Assistant on New Media, Jubril Gawat.
The governor said opposition politicians had already begun making the fuel subsidy a campaign issue barely two weeks into the political season, warning that Nigerians would hear more promises that the country could not afford.
“Barely two weeks in, opposition politicians have reached for the fuel subsidy as their instrument of choice, we will see more of this as we go on, we will see promises that no treasury on earth can honour,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu said the subsidy was not removed because the government wanted to make life difficult for Nigerians, but because it had become a major burden on the national purse.
“The subsidy was not removed because anybody enjoyed removing it, it was removed because it had become a hole in the national purse through which the money for roads, schools and hospitals was draining away,” he said.
He added that much of the money spent on the subsidy did not reach the ordinary motorists it was intended to benefit.
The governor also noted that all major presidential candidates in the 2023 election had promised to remove the subsidy, but only one had the opportunity to implement the decision.
“In the 2023 election, every major candidate promised to remove it. Only one of them was in a position to do it, and he did it on his first day in office,” Sanwo-Olu said.
His comments came amid renewed calls by the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, for the restoration of the petrol subsidy.
Atiku recently said he initially did not oppose the subsidy removal but had changed his position because Nigerians had not seen corresponding improvements in their living conditions.
“I initially did not oppose the removal of the fuel subsidy. But now that it has been removed, where is the money?” Atiku asked.
The former Vice-President also pledged to restore the subsidy if elected president and recover funds allegedly stolen under the subsidy regime.
“If I win the presidential election, I will restore the subsidy. And anyone who stole Nigeria’s subsidy funds must return the money,” he said.
Atiku argued that the funds previously spent on subsidising petrol could have been redirected to healthcare, education, security and youth empowerment.
His proposal has also attracted criticism from President Bola Tinubu, who described the plan to restore the subsidy as a demonstration of “serious ignorance on governance and economy.”