Tinubu rules out return to fuel subsidy

President Bola Tinubu. Photo: State House

President Bola Tinubu has ruled out a return to Nigeria’s petrol subsidy regime, warning against calls to reverse his administration’s economic reforms and describing such calls as a “siren song”.

Tinubu stated this in his Independence Day address to Nigerians on Thursday, as the country marked its 66th anniversary, while defending the reforms introduced since he assumed office in 2023.

The President said his administration had chosen to confront what he described as longstanding weaknesses in the economy rather than continue policies that merely eased their effects.

“Our reforms did not create the weaknesses in our economy. They confronted them,” Tinubu said.

‘We must resist their siren song’

Tinubu said the reforms had been difficult and acknowledged that their “side effects were real”, but argued that abandoning them would amount to returning to policies that had failed to address the underlying problems.

He warned against what he described as calls from “certain influential but regressive voices” to abandon the reforms and return to subsidy arrangements.

“Now, as certain influential but regressive voices would have us abandon the treatment and return ourselves to the abuse of addictive subsidies, we must resist their siren song,” the President said.

“We must remember why we began this journey and how far we have already come.”

Tinubu likened the Nigerian economy before the reforms to a cancer patient whose treatment was painful but necessary, saying previous governments had focused on easing symptoms while allowing the underlying problems to deepen.

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“Nigeria was like a sick patient who receives the terrible news that he has cancer,” he said.

“His doctor explains that the treatment will be difficult and painful, but that it offers a strong prospect of recovery. The patient has a choice. He can begin treatment, endure its discomfort and fight the disease. Or he can ask only for morphine, dull the pain and leave the cancer to spread.

“For too long, Nigeria’s leaders chose morphine while praying for a miracle that never came,” the president noted

Tinubu cites economic gains

Defending the reforms, Tinubu said Nigeria’s economic outlook had improved, citing growth of more than four per cent in 2026 and contributions from both the oil and non-oil sectors.

He also said oil theft had declined, inflation had fallen substantially from its peak, foreign reserves had been rebuilt and the foreign exchange market had stabilised.

The President said Nigeria recorded more than $6bn in non-oil export revenue in 2025, which he described as the highest in the country’s history.

“These are not idle claims. International observers, journalists, NGOs and multilateral institutions can see the change,” he said.

“Each has concluded that our reforms have strengthened Nigeria’s economic stability and resilience. The private sector has long since delivered its verdict, and foreign direct investment continues to rise each year.”

Tinubu said the country had reached a turning point, with the government now moving from economic correction to a focus on jobs, production and widespread prosperity.