The Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Zacch Adedeji, has thrown his weight behind President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove petrol subsidy, describing the controversial policy as one of the most important economic choices Nigeria has made.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Adedeji argued that the reform was necessary to rescue the country from an increasingly expensive and unsustainable subsidy system.
He said many of the economic gains being recorded by the government would not have been possible without the decision taken by Tinubu shortly after assuming office in May 2023.
“All the good results that I will reel out soon come as a result of that courageous decision (subsidy removal). So, it is not a mistake; it is the best thing that has happened to this country.
”Subsidy was evil and had been with Nigeria for decades,” Adedeji said.
Adedeji maintained that Tinubu inherited an economy weighed down by several structural problems, including an unsustainable petrol subsidy regime, weak performance in the oil sector and a narrow tax base.
According to him, the administration’s reforms should be judged by their long-term economic impact rather than the immediate discomfort they caused.
He also challenged politicians preparing to contest the 2027 presidential election to offer Nigerians clear alternatives instead of simply criticising the current administration.
“What the President deserves now is support and commendation for being a statesman and not a politician,” he said.
“Anybody who says he is coming (to contest as president), just ask them, ‘What will you do differently?’
“Are they saying that it is wrong that we removed fuel subsidy? Are they saying that it is wrong that we unified the rate?”
The NRS chairman argued that maintaining the subsidy would have placed an even heavier strain on Nigeria’s finances.
He claimed that under the economic pressures facing the country, including developments in the global energy market and the Iran crisis, the subsidy burden could have climbed to approximately N53 trillion.
He further suggested that the naira-dollar exchange rate could have deteriorated to around N3,500 to the dollar if the policy had remained in place.
Tinubu announced the end of petrol subsidy during his inauguration speech on May 29, 2023.
The announcement immediately triggered a sharp increase in petrol prices, with knock-on effects on transportation, food prices and the cost of production.
The reform, however, has also strengthened government revenues and increased allocations shared among the federal, state and local governments through the Federation Account.
For ordinary Nigerians, the debate remains more complicated. While the government’s finances have improved, the removal of subsidy has also contributed to a much higher cost of living.
Adedeji nevertheless insisted that the difficult adjustment was necessary to change the country’s economic direction.
His message to those seeking to reverse the reforms is straightforward: if subsidy removal was wrong, what would they do differently?
