Nigeria warns against petrol subsidy restoration

Nigeria's Federal Government has warned that restoring petrol subsidies would reverse the country's recent economic gains and return it to the unsustainable fiscal conditions of 2022. The caution was issued on Monday, August 24, 2026, by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in an opinion article published in national newspapers.

Idris stated that bringing back the subsidy would recreate the fiscal pressures, distortions, fuel scarcity, and incentives for arbitrage that made the old system untenable. He argued that the government would face difficult trade-offs, asking whether it should restore subsidies or sustain student loans, preserve higher allocations to states and local governments, continue funding infrastructure projects, or strengthen healthcare and education. The minister emphasized that the country cannot afford to return to a system that placed a huge strain on public finances.

The warning comes amid calls for subsidy restoration, including from opposition figures ahead of the 2027 elections. Idris pointed to the government's "Nigeria's Reform Scorecard," which indicated that subsidy removal generated N15.8 trillion in resources for...