- NRS Chairman Zacch Adedeji said Nigeria’s petrol subsidy could have reached ₦53 trillion annually without the 2023 removal.
- He defended the government’s economic reforms, saying they created conditions for investment and private-sector growth.
Nigeria could have spent about ₦53 trillion yearly on petrol subsidies if President Bola Tinubu had retained the scheme, according to Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) Chairman Zacch Adedeji.
Adedeji made the claim on August 9, 2026, during an interview on Channels Television. He defended the subsidy removal and exchange-rate reforms as difficult but necessary measures to prevent a deeper economic crisis. He said rising global oil prices and geopolitical tensions could have pushed subsidy costs above ₦53 trillion. That amount, he noted, would have exceeded 76 per cent of Nigeria’s ₦68 trillion budget.
According to Adedeji, the subsidy system was unsustainable because the government borrowed to buy petrol and sold it below cost. He also estimated that the naira could have fallen to about ₦3,500 per dollar without the exchange-rate reforms.
The NRS chairman rejected calls for a financial buffer before subsidy removal. He argued that the government could not create reserves for a scheme that already drained public finances.
Adedeji also dismissed the argument that the reforms mainly favoured wealthy Nigerians. He cited student loans, tax reforms and compressed natural gas (CNG) initiatives as measures introduced to ease economic pressures. However, he acknowledged that Nigerians would need time to feel the wider benefits. He pointed to increased investment, stronger corporate earnings and bank recapitalization as early signs of economic change.
Nigerian banks raised about ₦4.6 trillion through recapitalization, with much of the funding coming from domestic investors. Adedeji said the development reflected growing confidence in the economy. He also linked the reforms to increased investment in Nigeria’s downstream oil sector. According to him, subsidy removal created conditions for private refineries to operate commercially.
Adedeji said Nigeria had moved from importing refined petroleum products to exporting them. He added that the country would soon begin exporting Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
Meanwhile, the NRS chairman pointed to higher government revenues and the new minimum wage as further benefits of the reforms. The minimum wage rose from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000, an increase of more than 100 per cent. Yet inflation has weakened the wage gain in real terms. The monthly minimum wage has fallen from about $62 to roughly $51 when measured in dollars.
Adedeji also noted that federal, state and local governments now receive higher monthly allocations. He said the government distributes the additional revenue through the Federation Account rather than keeping it as a separate buffer.
He maintained that the reforms are addressing long-standing weaknesses in the economy. In his view, fixing those problems will create the foundation for stronger household incomes and wider economic gains.