President Bola Tinubu has reiterated his stance on removing the petrol subsidy, stating he has no regrets about the decision.
Gatekeepers News reports that during his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023, Tinubu announced the removal of the subsidy, which led to a significant increase in petrol prices from N190 to over N900 per litre.
The move sparked concerns about rising inflation and the cost of living.
However, Tinubu defended his policy during his first presidential media chat on Monday, emphasising that the subsidy was unsustainable and drained the country’s resources without yielding long-term benefits.
“Nigeria was spending its future and was not investing,” he explained, highlighting the need for prudent management of resources and financial discipline.
“We were spending the fortune of our future generations; we were not investing,” he said.
“We were just deceiving ourselves. That reform was necessary. Why should you have expenditures that we don’t have revenue for?
“We should teach management in all our programmes, we have to manage our resources.
“There is no way you give out fuel and allow all the entire neighbouring countries as Father Christmas. I don’t have regret whatsoever removing the subsidy. It is necessary.
“We cannot spend our future generation investments upfront.”
