The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, says the removal of fuel subsidy was a necessary decision to save Nigeria’s economy from sinking deeper into crisis, insisting that the policy largely benefited fuel cartels and wealthy individuals rather than ordinary citizens.
Alake stated this while speaking with journalists on the government’s economic policies, explaining that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration was compelled to take difficult and painful decisions to rebuild the economy and avert further economic decline.
According to the Minister, there was no shortcut to economic recovery, adding that previous administrations had avoided implementing critical reforms because of concerns about their political consequences.
READ ALSO: Fuel Subsidy Removal Saved Nigeria’s Economy – Akpabio
He said President Tinubu was willing to bear the political cost of the reforms by implementing measures that earlier governments had identified as necessary but lacked the courage to pursue.
“When you are in a hole, what do you do? You stop digging. Because the more you dig, the deeper you sink,” Alake said.
The Minister maintained that continuing the subsidy regime would have worsened the country’s economic challenges, arguing that the major beneficiaries were fuel cartels who exploited the system for personal gain.
“The beneficiaries of the fuel subsidy were the cartels, the oil cartels. And they took you smugly. They would buy the fuel at a lower price, cross the border, immediately, they make humongous payments.”
Alake explained that households with multiple vehicles benefited more from subsidised petrol than ordinary Nigerians who owned one vehicle or none, making the policy inequitable.
He also accused those who benefited from the subsidy regime of resisting its removal and attempting to mobilise public opposition against the reform
While acknowledging the hardship resulting from the reforms, the Minister argued that such sacrifices were inevitable in the process of restructuring an economy that had suffered years of distortions.
Using childbirth as an analogy, Alake said economic reforms often involve significant pain before their benefits become visible.
He dismissed concerns that Nigerians had waited too long to experience the impact of the reforms, stressing that major economic policies require time to produce measurable results.
According to him, governments must formulate policies, mobilise financial and human resources, implement programmes, monitor their execution and make adjustments where necessary before the benefits can be fully realised.
Alake stated that the government had already achieved macroeconomic stability and that the gains of the reforms were gradually reaching citizens at the microeconomic level.
The Minister described President Tinubu as a leader with the vision, knowledge and courage required to implement difficult economic policies.
Citing Tinubu’s tenure as governor of Lagos State, Alake recalled that the state generated about N600 million monthly in internally generated revenue in 1999 while its wage bill exceeded N1 billion.
He said the administration subsequently blocked revenue leakages, computerised the payroll system and introduced biometric verification to improve efficiency.
According to the Minister, the first month of the biometric payroll system saved about N350 million and exposed ghost workers as well as non-existent schools on the government payroll.
Alake noted that the same reform philosophy was now being applied to Nigeria’s economy on a much larger scale.
“What Nigeria needs is consistency. We don’t need a reset now. The reforms have come. They are in place, and they are moving ahead,” the Minister emphasised.
He also urged journalists to scrutinise government policies more rigorously and provide context when reporting on economic issues.
The Minister encouraged the media to distinguish between constructive criticism and narratives that could inadvertently advance the interests of groups seeking a return to the fuel subsidy regime.
Alake further urged journalists to examine the track records of political office seekers and assess the achievements they recorded while serving in previous public positions.
