Tinubu Denies Regrets Over Subsidy Removal, Warns Against Policy Reversal

President Bola Tinubu has defended the removal of the petrol subsidy and his administration’s wider economic reforms, saying he does not regret the decision. At a City Boys Movement gathering in Abuja, he argued that Nigeria cannot build prosperity by relying on borrowing and said his government would stay with its reform programme.

Tinubu said the subsidy was no longer affordable when he took office and described the country as facing a financial crisis. He defended ending it on his first day as president and said reversing the policy would return Nigeria to an unsustainable course.

Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele warned that a return to subsidy could prompt capital outflows and weaken confidence in the government’s economic programme. At the IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok, he said investors had questioned whether the administration would maintain reforms as the next election cycle approached.

Oyedele said uncertainty could unsettle financial markets, increase government borrowing costs and place more pressure on households. He warned that renewed doubts could push the naira towards ₦3,000, ₦3,500 or ₦4,000 per dollar and make fuel costlier in local currency.

Kola Ologbondiyan, media and publicity director of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, challenged the forecast. He called for the economic model and assumptions behind the exchange-rate estimates to be made public, saying Nigerians should be able to assess the evidence.