By Mary Onyia
The Federal Government has ruled out any return to the petrol subsidy regime, with Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, insisting that President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms were necessary to avert an impending economic crisis.
Akume made the declaration on Wednesday in Abuja at the 66th Independence Anniversary Lecture, saying the administration would not reverse the removal of petrol subsidy, foreign-exchange reforms and other measures introduced since 2023. “We will not return to the ruinous petroleum subsidy regime of the past,” he said.
Defending the reforms, the SGF cited World Bank data showing that Nigeria’s real GDP grew by 4.2 per cent in the first half of 2026, compared with 3.9 per cent in the corresponding period of 2025. The World Bank, however, says the stronger growth remains insufficient to generate enough productive jobs or significantly reduce poverty, underscoring the gap between macroeconomic improvement and household welfare.
Akume also pointed to the government’s expansion of compressed natural gas (CNG) as an alternative to petrol, saying more than 120,000 vehicles had been converted, with over 400 conversion centres and 90 refuelling stations nationwide. President Tinubu similarly rejected a return to petrol subsidy in September, arguing that Nigeria should instead accelerate cheaper energy alternatives, including CNG.
The position comes amid growing political debate over petrol prices and the cost of living ahead of the 2027 elections. African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has called for lower petrol prices and proposed a transparent production subsidy for petroleum refined domestically, rather than a return to subsidising imported petrol. Tinubu and the Federal Government have rejected a return to the old subsidy regime, setting the issue up as a major policy divide ahead of the elections.