Politics
Subsidy removal: Beyond Tinubu, Kyari’s personal interests
Subsidy removal: Beyond Tinubu, Kyari’s personal interests
By Mohammed Usman
Sahara Weekly Reports That One of the major highlights of the new administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been the suspension of the payment of subsidy for premium motor spirit, PMS, commonly called petrol.
Though there have been so many reforms introduced into the system since inauguration on May 29, 2023, the removal of fuel subsidies seemed to have been the most daring move ever made by any administration.
Come to think of it, as critical as fuel subsidy removal is to the turnaround of the economy, successive governments have made brick walls in their attempts to end the subsidy regime.
And, ever since that May 29th, 2023 pronouncement, a lot of dusts has been raised from different quarters, either from uninformed, or from the camp of those who benefited, albeit criminally or otherwise, while the subsidy regime held sway. And a lot of water has passed under the bridge too, including threats of strike.
However, it is pertinent to dig deep into this matter. Was removing the oil subsidy the right step in the right direction, or was it another government’s way to punish the masses?
Some say it is a wicked act by the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, aimed at impoverishing the masses further. Others say it is the handiwork of the group chief executive officer, GCEO, of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari. In this regard, the two top government functionaries have been the objects of attacks and accusations both in beer parlour discussions and in the press.
However, to the informed, this remains the most courageous move to place the country of the strongest path to its economic recovery.
The concept of fuel subsidy is not new to our national discourse. In fact, subsidy has been in place in Nigeria since the promulgation of the Price Control Act in 1977. It was put in place to cushion the effects of the global inflation of the 1970s.
In recent years, rather than being a blessing, subsidy payments have placed a huge economic burden on the government. The sectors that were affected negatively were the educational and health and housing sectors.
In justifying the subsidy removal, the government said subsidy removal would free up public funds for more meaningful infrastructure and developmental programs that stimulate industrialization, create jobs, economic growth and social prosperity.
For example: Almost N12 trillion spent on subsidy in the last four years is more than sufficient to develop any of the following projects: 2,400, hospitals of 1000 bed capacity across 774 local government areas; or 500,000 new houses to provide shelter to over 3.5 million Nigerians; or 27GW of electricity generation; or skill up and provide education up to tertiary levels for over 2 million Nigerians.
It also said it would create a market reflective downstream, which invariably stimulates more downstream investments, especially in the domestic refining space, thereby creating more jobs, prosperity, and growth.
The removal, according to the government would eliminate the unhealthy price arbitrage with neighboring countries thereby preventing the diversion and smuggling of gasoline outside the nation’s borders which bleeds our economy as well as reduce corruption surrounding internal product diversion as many marketers procure gasoline at subsidized regulated wholesale prices but still sell at deregulated retail prices.
It stated that the rich benefit more from the subsidy than the poor as they have higher number and capacity of vehicles to buy more gasoline; removal of the subsidy creates an opportunity to redistribute this benefit directly to those who need it more.
Subsidy removal also enables responsible gasoline consumption, which reduces waste as the prices are more market reflective, and the demand for the product will rebalance itself with the new price realities.
It equally allows the full recovery of upstream revenues, which enables reinvestment required to grow our national petroleum production and reserves and overall forex earnings.
The removal also would strengthen the naira as the growth of our foreign exchange earnings combined with reduction in product consumption reduces pressure on forex, thereby strengthening the naira.
It would also reduce product scarcity, opening market reflective prices to bring in more players, and create a more efficient market, thereby reducing fuel scarcity and its adverse effects on the economy.
The removal is also expected to reduce the growing and unsustainable budget deficit and, consequently, the debt burden, creating a more robust economic and sustainable future.
Successive governments had sunk trillions of naira into the subsidy payments. In 2006, the Obasanjo regime earmarked N1.9 trillion for these payments. Do not forget that at the period under review, naira exchanged at N130 to a dollar, making the amount $14.6 billion. This amount was to spike in 2007 when the same government spent N2.3trn, or $17.96bn, with naira exchanging for N128 to a dollar.
The above amount either tripled or quadrupled under the Yaradua/Jonathan administration as well as the Buhari administration. Now that the dollar is hovering around N800 in the exchange rate, one wonders what would be the fate of the economy in the next six months had the subsidy stayed.
Probably, this would have been the basis of the constant warning from international agencies of the dangers of accommodating this burden called subsidy. Prior to the removal of the subsidy, there were damning reports from the International Monetary Fund, IMF, and the World Bank concerning oil subsidy.
In its report titled, “Macro Poverty Outlook for Nigeria: April 2023” the World Bank said macroeconomic stability had weakened amidst declining oil production, costly fuel subsidies and other factors, further pushing millions of Nigeria into poverty, and that might become worse if the subsidy stayed up to June on 2023.
The report further said: “With Nigeria’s population growth continuing to outpace poverty reduction and persistent high inflation ratio, the number of Nigerians living below the national poverty line will rise by 13 million between 2019 and 2025 in the baseline projection.”
The bottom line is that in the last two decades, the fuel subsidy had cost the nation several trillions of naira. Even if it is narrowed down to between 2005 and now, the government spent approximately N21 trillion on subsidy payments alone.
The last regime of President Muhammadu Buhari, having realized the dangers ahead, stopped making provisions for the payment in June 2023 when his government would have expired. It was, therefore, incumbent on the incoming administration to pick up the gauntlet and do the needful.
From the onset of the existence of the subsidy, a certain set of individuals had smiled to the bank with each payment. It turned out that something that was done to assuage the suffering of the masses became an avenue for people with greedy and unscrupulous oil marketing companies to divert money into their pockets by sheer unconscionable criminality,
Speaking in a nationwide broadcast last Monday, President Tinubu reiterated on the benefit of the subsidy removal to Nigerians. He said in a little over two months, his government had over a trillion naira “that would have been squandered on the unproductive fuel subsidy which only benefitted smugglers and fraudsters That money will now be used more directly and more beneficial for you and your families.
“For several years, I have consistently maintained the position that the fuel subsidy had to go. This once beneficial measure outlived its usefulness.
“The subsidy cost us trillions of Naira yearly. Such a vast sum of money would have been better spent on public transportation, healthcare, schools, housing, and even national security. Instead, it was being funnelled into the deep pockets and lavish bank accounts of a select group of individuals.
“To be blunt, Nigeria could never become the society it was intended to be as long as such small, powerful yet unelected groups hold enormous influence over our political economy and the institutions that govern it.
“The whims of the few should never hold dominant sway over the hopes and aspirations of the many. If we are to be a democracy, the people and not the power of money must be sovereign.”
However, notwithstanding the president’s speech, the organized labour ordered workers to resume strike on Wednesday after talks with the government failed to yield positive results.
This is in spite of palliatives proposed by the federal government to ameliorate the perceived suffering the fuel subsidy removal would throw up.
This raises the question as to what the Nigerian labour is up to. Is labour truly yearning for the progress of Nigeria, or is it being sponsored by enemies of Nigeria?
At this critical period of our nation, we urge Nigerians to come together to support the good vision of the president to make the nation great, because from all indications, both the president Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Mallam Mele Kyari, the NNPC GCEO mean well for Nigeria.
Usman, a public commentator, wrote in from FCT, Abuja.
Politics
A Nation Betrayed: How NASS Budget Padding Exposes Tinubu’s Complicity and the Rot in Nigeria’s Leadership. By George Omagbemi Sylvester
A Nation Betrayed: How NASS Budget Padding Exposes Tinubu’s Complicity and the Rot in Nigeria’s Leadership.
By George Omagbemi Sylvester
In a disturbing revelation that should outrage every patriotic Nigerian, civic-tech organization BudgIT has uncovered a monumental financial scandal in the 2025 budget, one that shatters every illusion of fiscal responsibility under the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration. According to BudgIT’s damning analysis, the National Assembly padded the 2025 Appropriation Act by inserting 11,122 projects worth a staggering ₦6.93 trillion, projects not proposed by any Ministries, Departments or Agencies (MDAs), but smuggled in by lawmakers.
This is not a clerical oversight, but a calculated and treacherous move. More importantly, this raises one inescapable question: Why did President Bola Tinubu sign this fraudulent budget into law if he was genuinely against it? The answer is simple, brutal and damning: because he is part of the collaboration. This is not just corruption, it is institutional betrayal. It is the final confirmation that the war in Nigeria is not between political parties but between the corrupt elite and the suffering Nigerian masses.
The Anatomy of Budget Padding
Let us first understand the scale of this treachery. The 2025 national budget, totalling ₦28.7 trillion, now has nearly 25% padded content, courtesy of lawmakers’ “constituency projects.” These are not national priorities or economically strategic programs. These are politically motivated insertions designed to enrich contractors linked to lawmakers, reward political loyalty and in some cases, simply launder money.
BudgIT revealed that several of these projects are duplicated, vague, inflated or outrightly useless, such as the procurement of hundreds of boreholes and solar streetlights in areas that do not even have roads, schools or hospitals. These are not investments; they are tools of financial cannibalism.
A similar trend happened in previous years, but never on this scale. In 2021, former President Buhari complained that the National Assembly inserted over 1,000 projects worth ₦150 billion. Now, under Tinubu, that figure has ballooned to ₦6.93 trillion; which is nearly forty-six times higher. This is not reform. This is regression at gunpoint.
Tinubu’s Silence is Complicity
To sign such a budget, fully aware of its fraudulent padding, is not a mistake, this is an endorsement. President Tinubu, known for his political astuteness and Machiavellian tactics, cannot claim ignorance. BudgIT’s report was based on public records. If civic groups could uncover this, then surely the Office of the President, with all its resources, was also aware.
Yet, Tinubu raised no alarm. He signed it into law. Why?
Because the padding was politically convenient. This budget is not just a fiscal document, it is a loyalty purchase agreement. As the APC seeks to consolidate power ahead of 2027, especially in light of its underwhelming performance, it is using state resources to bribe lawmakers across party lines. These padded projects are political IOUs for securing second-term endorsements and collapsing opposition platforms.
This is not democratic governance. This is budgetary banditry, orchestrated under the guise of legislative “oversight.”
The Cost to the People
While the so-called leaders gorge themselves on fake projects and fraudulent allocations, ordinary Nigerians are gasping for breath. Inflation is above 33%, food inflation is at 40%, unemployment remains sky-high and naira continues to hemorrhage value, trading at nearly ₦1,500 to the dollar. Meanwhile, the masses are told to “tighten their belts” while the political elite expands theirs.
Public infrastructure is collapsing. Schools remain underfunded, hospitals are glorified mortuaries and insecurity has become a permanent fixture. Yet ₦6.93 trillion enough to build 20 world-class universities or electrify entire regions has been carved out as a political slush fund.
Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, former Minister of Education and former Vice President of the World Bank for Africa, once noted, “The problem with Nigeria is not lack of resources. It is the deliberate theft of the commonwealth by a few.” That is exactly what this budget represents: a theft of historic proportions, blessed by the presidency, executed by lawmakers and paid for by the blood and sweat of ordinary Nigerians.
A Nation Held Hostage
The fundamental betrayal here is not just the money. It is the normalization of impunity. Nigeria has become a hostage state where lawmakers legislate for themselves, the executive protects the corrupt and the judiciary often dances to the tune of power. The 2025 budget saga is not just another scandal, it is a window into how deeply broken the Nigerian state has become.
Even worse is the sheer arrogance with which this fraud is being executed. No lawmaker has denied BudgIT’s report. No investigation has been ordered. The Presidency has remained silent and the APC, whose manifesto once promised “fiscal discipline,” has said nothing.
Silence is not just death anymore, it is endorsement. Every day this padded budget stands unchallenged, democracy dies a little more.
Calls for Action
This cannot be allowed to stand. Civil society must rise. Journalists must demand answers. Every Nigerian must understand that this is not politics this is plunder. The 2025 budget must be reviewed, the padded projects must be removed and those responsible must face prosecution.
Section 81(1) of the Nigerian Constitution empowers the President to prepare and lay before the National Assembly an annual budget. However, it also states in Section 80(4) that “no moneys shall be withdrawn from any public fund other than in the manner prescribed by the National Assembly.” This legal ambiguity has been weaponized by both the legislature and the executive to enrich themselves while the nation bleeds.
This is where the people must draw the line. Budget padding is not just bad governance, it is treason against the Nigerian people. Those who participate in it, approve it or benefit from it must be named, shamed and prosecuted.
Final Thoughts: Time for a Revolution of Accountability
The time for timid reform is over. Nigeria needs a revolution not of guns, but of accountability, transparency and civic outrage. If the President will not fight corruption, then the people must. If lawmakers will not serve the people, they must be voted out even if it means starting from scratch.
History will not be kind to the collaborators of this budget. And neither should we.
As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” The 2025 budget scandal matters. It is a defining moment in the fight for Nigeria’s soul. And we must not remain silent.
One Voice, One Future: Youth Power for a New Nigeria
By George Omagbemi Sylvester
In the history of nations, there always comes a defining moment when the youth must rise to rescue their future from the grip of complacency, corruption and systemic decay. That moment, for Nigeria, is now. The clarion call is no longer a whisper in the dark, it is a deafening roar echoing across the cities and villages, the streets and campuses and the diaspora. 2027 is not just another election year; it is a generation’s opportunity to reclaim its destiny.
Nigeria, once hailed as the Giant of Africa, is now crawling under the weight of failed leadership, nepotism, economic collapse and insecurity. Over 70% of Nigeria’s population is under the age of 35, this is not a mere statistic; it is a superpower waiting to be activated. Yet, for decades, the same recycled leadership has ruled the country like a private estate, while the youth are sidelined, patronized or pacified with empty slogans.
The Reality: A Nation Betrayed
The facts are brutal and undeniable. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), as of the fourth quarter of 2024, youth unemployment stood at 42.5%, one of the highest rates globally. Thousands of graduates are turned out yearly into a job market that has nothing to offer them. Our educational institutions are underfunded, with lecturers going on endless strikes, while billions of naira are siphoned into the offshore accounts of corrupt politicians.
The World Bank states that over 40% of Nigerians live below the poverty line, with youth bearing the brunt of the economic despair. The same youth are used during elections as pawns, thugs, online propagandists and cheerleaders for politicians who have never and will never fight for their future.
We must say: “Enough is Enough.”
The Power of Youth: A Sleeping Giant
Across Africa, the story is changing. Youth-led movements are challenging old orders and shaking the foundations of outdated governance systems.
In Uganda, Bobi Wine, a musician turned politician, galvanized millions of youth to challenge President Museveni’s long-standing dictatorship. While he didn’t win the election, he ignited a flame of hope. In Sudan, youth were at the center of the 2019 revolution that ousted the 30-year regime of Omar al-Bashir.
As Nelson Mandela once said, “Youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow.” But as things stand in Nigeria, tomorrow never seems to come, unless we seize it.
In 2020, during the #EndSARS movement, we saw a glimpse of what a united, tech savvy and courageous Nigerian youth can achieve. For once, the world stood still as Nigerian youth organized without a central leadership structure, crowd funded, coordinated logistics, engaged in civic education and peacefully demanded justice. Despite the violent crackdown at Lekki Tollgate, the spirit of resistance lives on.
2027: The Youth Mandate
If we are serious about change, then 2027 must be our electoral revolution. Not through violence, but through strategic mobilization, political education, voter registration and active participation in the democratic process.
Let us be clear: the days of apathy are over. As the African proverb goes, “He who is not part of the solution is part of the problem.”
Youth must no longer be mere spectators or online critics; we must become candidates, campaigners, policy drafters, party leaders, election monitors and political donors. Our demographic power must translate into voting power and our voting power must produce accountable leadership.
According to INEC, less than 35% of youth eligible to vote actually did so in the 2023 elections. This is a travesty. With over 90 million Nigerians under 40, if even 50% of us vote smartly and strategically in 2027, we can turn the tide.
Towards a National Youth Alliance
What we need now is not another party, we need a movement, a coalition, a National Youth Alliance that transcends ethnicity, religion and class.
A youth amalgamation that brings together student unions, tech entrepreneurs, young professionals, artisans, artists, athletes, activists and influencers. A youth vanguard that builds structures, fields candidates, protects votes and holds leaders accountable.
We must engage in issue based politics, not stomach infrastructure or tribal loyalties. The youth must demand answers to the questions that matter:
“Why are over 10 million Nigerian children out of school?”
“Why does Nigeria remain the poverty capital of the world, according to the Brookings Institution?”
“Why is our minimum wage ₦70,000 when a bag of rice is over ₦70,000?”
“Why are lawmakers earning ₦30 million monthly while civil servants are owed arrears?”
The late Thomas Sankara, Burkina Faso’s revolutionary leader, once said, “You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness.” We need a bit of that madness, the madness to challenge the status quo, to think differently and to act boldly.
From Hashtags to Ballot Boxes
It is not enough to trend on Twitter or rant on TikTok, social media is powerful, yes I agree, but it is not a substitute for civic engagement; we need to bridge the gap between online activism and offline results.
Youths must start at the grassroots to win local government seats, state assemblies and build a pipeline of leadership that is tested and accountable. The #NotTooYoungToRun Act must not be a symbolic victory; it must be a political weapon in our hands.
Let us support credible youth candidates with our time, resources and platforms. Let us organize town hall meetings, debates and policy hackathons. Let us raise funds, build apps to track campaign promises and expose corrupt leaders.
As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said, “When we refuse to engage in politics, we end up being governed by our inferiors.”
Time for Tangible Action
It is time for each Nigerian youth to ask themselves: What am I doing today to secure my tomorrow? Are we registering to vote? Are we sensitizing our peers? Are we demanding better governance at the community level?
We must begin to think long term, beyond 2027. The goal is not just to elect a few fresh faces. The goal is to build a sustainable youth-driven democratic culture where excellence not ethnicity, becomes the metric of leadership.
Let us stop romanticizing suffering. Nigeria has the talent, the resources and the manpower to be great. What we lack is visionary leadership and that is what we must now provide.
Final Words: A Movement, not a Moment
This is a movement, not a moment. It will require sacrifice, unity and strategy. There will be obstacles, betrayals and frustrations. But we must remain focused.
As the Pan-Africanist Kwame Nkrumah declared: “The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa.” Likewise, any victory in 2027 will be meaningless unless it sets off a chain reaction of liberation, innovation and transformation across all levels of Nigerian society.
So, dear patriotic Nigerian youth; RISE! This is your time… Your country needs you more than ever.
Don’t wait for change, be the change.
Together, we can make a difference.
#YouthFor2027 #NationalAllianceNow #SecureTheFuture #NigeriaDeservesBetter
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