-Manny Ita
Senator Solomon Adeola, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, has declared that Nigeria is now saving over ₦10 trillion annually following the federal government’s decision to terminate the long-standing fuel subsidy regime.
Speaking on Saturday in Ogun State, the Senator, who represents Ogun West, characterized the previous subsidy system as a “cankerworm” that had historically drained public finances to the benefit of a small elite. He asserted that the removal has significantly eased fiscal pressure on the nation’s economy.
“I am a living testimony to what the president has done. Within his two years of assumption of office, he succeeded in removing the cankerworm in our economy that has affected our finances over the years,” Adeola stated. “That is, the fuel subsidy; which benefited very few Nigerians at the detriment of the overall population of this nation. With that singular action, the president is saving the country over ₦10 trillion on annual basis.”
Reflecting on his previous role as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Adeola provided context for the scale of the previous expenditure, noting that the government frequently resorted to heavy borrowing to sustain petrol prices.
“I used to be the chairman, senate committee on finance during the last senate, and I know on a yearly basis what we go to the bank to borrow to fund the subsidy is in the region of ₦6 trillion to ₦7 trillion,” he said.
The policy, officially enacted by President Bola Tinubu in May 2023, was designed to curb budget deficits and redirect funds toward social spending and infrastructure. However, the transition has not been without significant friction. The removal has been a primary driver of a sharp rise in fuel prices, soaring transportation costs, and record-high inflation, drawing sharp criticism from civil society and labor unions.
Despite these economic headwinds, Senator Adeola argued that the administration is successfully reinvesting these savings into “large-scale infrastructure projects” intended to stimulate long-term growth. He specifically highlighted the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway as evidence of this “new Nigeria.”
“The President is creating a new Nigeria. The Lagos-Calabar expressway will cut across 10 or 15 states… Also, the Sokoto-Badagry way, a popular road, which we are also a beneficiary. Along that road alone, we have a total of 66 dams when that road is fully completed,” Adeola noted.
The Senator’s ₦10 trillion figure comes amid varying official reports regarding the exact financial impact of the policy. Earlier in 2024, Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President, estimated annual savings at approximately $7.5 billion.
Conversely, the Accelerated Stabilization and Advancement Plan (ASAP) presented by Finance Minister Wale Edun previously projected that fuel subsidy-related spending could still reach ₦5.4 trillion in 2024, highlighting the complexities the government faces in fully exiting the pricing intervention.
