Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele
The Federal Government has accounted for N15.8 trillion in savings from the removal of fuel subsidy between June 2023 and December 2025, saying the reform helped avert a deeper fiscal crisis.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this on Wednesday Abuja while presenting the government’s “Nigeria Reform Scorecard”, which detailed the financial gains, costs and benefits of the economic reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Of the N15.8 trillion subsidy savings mobilised for the Federation, N5.4 trillion accrued to the Federal Government, while N10.4 trillion was shared among states and local governments.
Oyedele put the Federal Government’s incremental independent revenue at N3.1 trillion, principally from remittances by government-owned entities, while incremental borrowing accounted for N11.9 trillion.
Together, the resources brought the Federal Government’s incremental resources during the period to N20.4 trillion.
The government, however, spent N30.64 trillion on incremental expenses, including N9.39 trillion for wage adjustments, minimum wage increases and allowances for public servants.
External debt servicing arising from the depreciation of the naira gulped another N9.37 trillion, while N6.5 trillion went into strategic infrastructure.
Breaking down the figures, Oyedele explained that 58 per cent of the N20.4 trillion came from borrowing, 27 per cent from subsidy savings and 15 per cent from other revenue.
“Of the N20.4 trillion, 58 per cent came from borrowing, 27 per cent from subsidy savings and 15 per cent from other revenue,” the minister said.
Two-thirds of the N30.64 trillion incremental expenditure, he added, was funded by the new resources, while about N10 trillion came from the existing revenue base.
Oyedele maintained that the figures countered the narrative that subsidy removal was primarily a revenue-generating measure, arguing that the policy was designed to tackle corruption and distortions associated with the fuel subsidy regime and multiple foreign exchange rates.
The reform scorecard assessed 25 indicators across five areas: fiscal sustainability, external stability, investment climate, social impact, and growth and productivity.
It compared Nigeria’s position in May 2023 with its current position and a counterfactual projection of where the economy could have been had the subsidy regime, multiple exchange rates and unchecked Ways and Means financing continued.
On the scorecard, headline inflation stood at 15.91 per cent in June 2026, down from 22.41 per cent in May 2023, while food inflation dropped from 24.82 per cent to 17.52 per cent.
Gross foreign reserves climbed from about $35 billion to $52.5 billion, while net reserves rose from roughly $3 billion to $34.8 billion.
Stock market capitalisation also expanded from about N31 trillion to approximately N150 trillion, while real GDP growth strengthened to 3.89 per cent from 2.31 per cent.
According to Oyedele, S&P Global’s upgrade of Nigeria’s sovereign credit rating to B in May marked the country’s first upgrade in 14 years.
Nigeria also exited the Financial Action Task Force grey list in October 2025 and the European Union’s Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism Deficiency List in January 2026.
Acknowledging the costs associated with the reforms, the minister said the Monetary Policy Rate rose from 18.5 per cent to 26.5 per cent, while petrol prices moved from about N185 per litre to between N1,100 and N1,400.
“A scorecard that only lists wins is not a scorecard – it is a campaign leaflet, and we did not come here to give you one,” Oyedele declared.
His counterfactual assessment suggested that without the reform, petrol could have become unavailable at the old official price and traded above N3,000 per litre on the black market.
The social interventions cited included the increase in the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 and support for more than 1.5 million students through the Nigeria Education Loan Fund, NELFUND.
Cash transfers, subsidised mortgages, agricultural interventions and the new tax regime were also listed as measures intended to cushion households from the effects of the reforms.
The fiscal pressure on states was another area highlighted in the scorecard. While 27 states reportedly struggled to reliably pay salaries in May 2023, none was currently in that position.
Similarly, the official exchange rate premium over the parallel market, once above 60 per cent, had fallen below five per cent.
Oyedele, however, classified poverty and household welfare as “unfinished business”, signalling that the government’s next phase would focus on turning macroeconomic stability into more visible relief for Nigerians.
Responding to questions from journalists, he defended the government’s recent borrowing and debt refinancing strategy, maintaining that the transaction was designed to refinance more expensive debt at a lower cost.
The borrowing had been approved by the National Assembly, according to the minister, who added that the Ministry of Finance and Debt Management Office would publish frequently asked questions on the transaction.
On NELFUND, Oyedele challenged parents to verify whether their children had benefited from the scheme, which provides tuition support and monthly stipends on an interest-free basis.
More than 1.5 million students, he reiterated, had benefited from the programme.
Addressing concerns over government spending, the minister pointed to spending cuts and efficiency measures, noting that the N20.4 trillion in incremental resources could not cover the N30.64 trillion in additional expenditure.
About N10 trillion was consequently drawn from the existing revenue base.
Oyedele also disclosed plans for a central portal that would give Nigerians access to the development plans, annual projects and audited accounts of all 774 local governments.
On delayed budget releases and complaints by contractors, the minister explained that limited resources had compelled the government to prioritise personnel costs and debt servicing before capital expenditure.
The government had consequently prioritised smaller local contractors, with more than 1,000 reportedly paid in recent weeks.
Oyedele rated the administration’s reform performance seven out of 10, reserving a higher score for when income levels begin rising faster than prices, economic growth reaches at least seven per cent and Nigeria’s GDP approaches $1 trillion.
“We are not here to pretend these reforms were painless. We are here to show you, honestly and with the numbers, what they cost, the benefits they delivered, and the harm they prevented,” he said.
Earlier, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the briefing was convened to give Nigerians “clear and factual information” on the resources freed by subsidy removal and how they had been deployed.
Acknowledging the sacrifices imposed by the policy, Idris noted that individuals, families, businesses and communities had been required to make significant adjustments.
Nigerians, he stressed, had a right to know the financial implications of major economic decisions and how the resources freed by the reforms were being utilised.
“This is fundamentally about transparency and accountability,” Idris said.
