Subsidies or Student Loans? Minister Poses Tough Questions to Critics

Information Minister Mohammed Idris cautions that restoring petrol subsidy would undermine fiscal progress, weaken investor confidence, and return Nigeria to the economic crisis of 2022, as the government highlights ₦6.47 trillion in infrastructure spending and over 10 million households reached with social transfers.

ABUJA, Nigeria – The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has issued a firm warning against renewed calls to restore the petrol subsidy, declaring that such a move would reverse the economic gains recorded under President Bola Tinubu’s administration and plunge Nigeria back into the fiscal crisis that characterised the old subsidy regime. In an Op-Ed titled “Restoring Fuel Subsidy Will Reverse Nigeria’s Economic Gains,” published on Monday, August 24, 2026, in several national dailies, the minister outlined the fiscal benefits of subsidy removal, the economic risks averted, and the difficult trade-offs that would confront the country should petrol subsidy be reintroduced. According to a statement issued by his Media Aide, Rabiu Ibrahim, in Abuja, Idris argued that proponents of subsidy restoration must confront the real opportunity costs of such a decision, asking whether Nigerians are willing to sacrifice student loans, consumer credit, infrastructure funding, and social protection for the return of a policy that proved economically devastating.

“Restoring subsidy would almost instantly return Nigeria to the economic conditions of 2022, recreating the same fiscal pressures, distortions, scarcity and incentives for arbitrage that made the old system unsustainable,” Idris said. The minister recalled that in 2022, amid declining oil production and weak revenues, Nigeria spent about $10 billion on fuel subsidies, while the World Bank warned that the subsidy was consuming resources that could otherwise have supported education, healthcare, infrastructure and social protection. He noted that the legacy Ways and Means financing, which stood at about ₦30 trillion in May 2023 and has since been curtailed, would have doubled to ₦60 trillion or more without the reforms, while 27 states that were unable to reliably pay salaries would have seen their situations worsen considerably.

READ ALSO:

• Police vow to arrest killers of 10 officers slain in Kebbi gun battle
• Police vow to arrest killers of 10 officers slain in Kebbi gun battle
• Salah scores brace as Trabzonspor beat Basaksehir 2-1

Idris posed a series of pointed questions to those calling for subsidy restoration, challenging them to consider what would be sacrificed. “Do we restore petrol subsidy, or sustain student loans and consumer credit for young Nigerians? Do we restore subsidy, or preserve higher allocations to states and local governments? Do we restore subsidy, or continue funding roads, rail, power and security? Do we restore subsidy, or strengthen the fiscal capacity required to expand healthcare, education and social protection for vulnerable Nigerians?” he asked. The minister emphasised that these are not rhetorical questions but real policy choices that would confront the nation. He noted that the Organised Private Sector and the wider economic community have also cautioned against reversing the reform, recognising that Nigeria cannot build tomorrow’s economy by returning to yesterday’s unsustainable subsidy regime.

Citing the Federal Government’s recently presented “Nigeria’s Reform Scorecard: The Benefits, Costs and Harms Prevented,” Idris noted that the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed that subsidy savings mobilised ₦15.8 trillion in resources for the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025. He explained that approximately ₦5.43 trillion accrued to the Federal Government, ₦6.52 trillion to states, and ₦3.88 trillion to local governments—clarifying that the ₦15.8 trillion was not a separate pool of cash but resources released within the Federation’s wider fiscal system. The minister noted that the increased fiscal space has strengthened the capacity of states and local governments to meet salary and pension obligations while enabling major federal investments in infrastructure, security, agriculture, and human capital. According to Idris, the Reform Scorecard recorded approximately ₦6.47 trillion in additional expenditure on strategic infrastructure, including major national corridors such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, and the Trans-Sahara Superhighway.

Beyond infrastructure, the minister highlighted that more than ₦400 billion has been committed to major social investment initiatives, including the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) with ₦223.8 billion, the MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF) with ₦150 billion, and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) with ₦50 billion. He added that social transfers have reached more than 10 million Nigerian households, providing critical support to vulnerable families across the country. Idris also pointed to renewed investor confidence, noting that the Nigerian stock market is the world’s best-performing in 2026, external reserves are at their highest level in nearly 20 years, and oil production has exceeded its OPEC quota for the first time in years. These indicators, he said, reflect the positive trajectory of the economy under the current reform agenda.

READ ALSO:

• Seven killed, seven injured in Bida-Kutigi road crash
• Kwara Monarch, Baale’s Wife Abducted as Fresh Wave of Kidnappings Hits Communities
• KWAM 1 Breaks Down on Stage in Emotional Tribute to Late Nollywood Icon Ogogo

The minister further warned that Nigeria is already carrying a substantial electricity subsidy estimated at ₦3.14 trillion between June 2023 and December 2025. This subsidy helps bridge the gap between actual power production costs and the capped tariffs paid by most consumers. According to figures from the Ministry of Finance, electricity subsidy payments rose sharply from N177 billion in 2023 to N1.48 trillion in 2024—an increase of more than 740 percent—before declining marginally to N1.47 trillion in 2025. “Reintroducing a petrol consumption subsidy on top of this would deal a double blow to Nigeria’s fiscal position,” Idris warned, noting that the combined burden would severely constrain the government’s ability to invest in critical sectors and maintain fiscal stability.

The minister also detailed the economic harm that the reforms have helped Nigeria avert. Had the subsidy regime remained unaddressed, he said, petrol scarcity would have returned, pushing prices above ₦3,000 per litre on the black market. The legacy Ways and Means financing, which stood at about ₦30 trillion in May 2023 and has since been curtailed, would have doubled to ₦60 trillion or more. The Scorecard projects that, without the reforms, the inherited situation of 27 states unable to reliably pay salaries would undoubtedly have worsened. Idris noted that the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) recently backed the Federal Government’s economic reform programme, saying the measures have produced measurable improvements in Nigeria’s fiscal and macroeconomic position, though it urged a shift from economic stability to productivity, investment, and improved living standards.

The minister acknowledged that Nigerians are facing difficulties arising from the reforms but maintained that reversing course is not the solution. “We are not claiming that the reforms have solved all of Nigeria’s economic challenges; there is indeed still much work to be done to translate improved fiscal capacity into better services, jobs, infrastructure and living standards,” he said. He urged citizens to view the reforms in the context of the country’s long-term economic stability and the need to build a stronger, more productive economy. “Nigeria cannot build tomorrow’s economy by returning to yesterday’s unsustainable subsidy regime. We have moved beyond that model,” Idris concluded.

Subsidies or Student Loans? Minister Poses Tough Questions to Critics

Tinubu Suspends Three Permanent Secretaries, Orders Arrest Over Fake Agency in SGF Office

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) uncovered the “National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office,” which allegedly operated without presidential approval within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. The President has ordered the immediate arrest of the agency’s promoter and the suspension of three top civil servants.

President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate suspension of three permanent secretaries and directed the arrest of the promoter of a newly uncovered fake government agency operating within the premises of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF). The discovery was announced on Friday by the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, during a briefing with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The illegal entity, identified as the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, was found to have been allocated office space within the OSGF complex without presidential authorisation and in violation of existing regulations. The ICPC chairman explained that the discovery was made during the commission’s broader investigation into the earlier uncovered fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) and other procedural weaknesses in the public service.

READ ALSO:

• Troops Arrest Female Gunrunner, Recover AK-47 in Plateau
• Why Atiku’s subsidy gambit rattles Tinubu, By Farooq Kperogi
• Tinubu’s order: EFCC lifts freeze on Osun government accounts

According to Aliyu, the fake agency was promoted by Prince George Buchi Nwabueze, who was found to have allegedly operated under several variations of his name, including George Nathan, George Nathan Nwabueze, Honourable George Buchi Nwabueze, and George Nwabueze. The investigation also uncovered the alleged involvement of suspected collaborators within the OSGF who may have facilitated the agency’s operations.

Following the ICPC’s briefing, President Tinubu directed the immediate arrest of Nwabueze and the suspension of three permanent secretaries: M.S. Danjuma, Engineer Nadungu Gagare, and Richard P. Pheelangwah. The ICPC has engaged with officials of the OSGF to gather vital information regarding the unauthorised office, and the investigation remains active.

The latest discovery comes barely weeks after the exposure of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), whose self-styled Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, is currently facing prosecution over allegations of forgery and impersonation. An interim ICPC report submitted to President Tinubu on August 6 had also identified two other fictitious bodies: the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership. With Friday’s announcement, the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office becomes the fourth fake agency uncovered by the anti-corruption commission in connection with the scandal since early April.

The ICPC chairman commended President Tinubu for directing a forensic audit of government processes and a wider policy audit of federal ministries, departments, and agencies, describing the move as a proactive step towards strengthening governance and closing loopholes that could facilitate abuse within the public service. The investigation is expected to focus not only on the individuals behind the purported agency but also on the institutional weaknesses that allowed an unauthorised entity to gain access to federal government premises.

Tinubu Suspends Three Permanent Secretaries, Orders Arrest Over Fake Agency in SGF Office