Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has reiterated that the Presidency will not reintroduce fuel subsidy, despite widespread concerns over the rising cost of living following its removal.
Oyedele made the remarks on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, during press interactions on the sidelines of a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and a group of global institutional investors in Paris, as part of a three-nation working visit.
The minister’s comments come amid growing public pressure fuelled by surging petrol prices linked to the ongoing Middle East crisis.
Oyedele stated that the government would not reverse the subsidy removal, arguing that subsidies create “destruction for the economy,” and that petrol prices would not be subject to price controls because the administration believes in market forces to determine prices.
He added, however, that the government would ensure responsible regulation to prevent suppliers, traders, and manufacturers from exploiting Nigerian consumers.
President Tinubu, speaking at the same investor meeting, credited the subsidy removal with helping Nigeria achieve improved foreign exchange stability, describing the subsidy as a burden that had been lifted from the country.
Since the removal of the petrol subsidy in May 2023, Nigeria’s inflation rate surged to a 19-year high, with headline inflation climbing from 22.41% in May 2023 to 34.19% by June 2024, driven by sharply higher fuel, food, and transportation costs.
Nevertheless, the government insists the reforms are bearing fruit. Oyedele highlighted that Nigeria recorded 11.2% GDP growth in dollar terms in 2025, a figure he described as underpinning the country’s ambition to build a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2030.
Analysts have estimated that reinstating the subsidy would have cost an estimated ₦52 trillion in 2026 alone a figure the government has cited as central to its case against any reversal.
