By Amofokhai Williams
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared on Friday that his administration’s removal of the fuel subsidy three years ago rescued Nigeria from the brink of fiscal collapse, a decision he acknowledged was “painful” but has since laid the groundwork for economic recovery.
Speaking at a Sallah gathering in Lagos that doubled as the third anniversary celebration of his presidency, Tinubu told a room of state governors that the country had been spending “enormous resources” on unsustainable subsidy payments that benefited only a privileged few while starving critical sectors of investment.
“It was challenging at the time, but we survived,” the President said. “We face litigation and accusations. We survived them. Instead of bankruptcy, Nigeria has survived.”
The meeting, which included the governors of 16 states and deputy governors of two others, offered a rare moment of political unanimity as leaders from across party lines endorsed what many had initially condemned as a politically catastrophic move.
Vice President Kashim Shettima framed the decision in characteristically stark terms, describing the subsidy as a “contradiction that held this country hostage for 50 years.”
He added: “You did not come to power in the season of ease. In that defining hour, you chose not to postpone the surgery. You chose not to massage the wound.”
The President pointed to what he described as clear evidence of recovery: agriculture is “booming,” macroeconomic indicators are “doing very well,” and abandoned road and housing projects have been rehabilitated.
He specifically invoked the Sokoto-Badagry corridor, noting the potential of dams along the route for irrigation, farmland and electricity generation.
But it was Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, speaking on behalf of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, who offered the most concrete validation of the President’s claims.
He said the subsidy removal and accompanying fiscal reforms had increased revenue flows to states, enabling them to clear outstanding salaries and pensions while reducing their reliance on borrowing.
“Many states were subject to issuing bonds and borrowing money. Today, states are not going to borrow money. In fact, we’re reducing our debt,” Abdulrazaq said, before making a pointed request: that the President consider raising the minimum wage to at least N100,000.
Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, went further, awarding the President a perfect score.
“We have assessed your performance, Mr President, and I’m happy to announce that we have scored it 100 percent,” he said.
President Tinubu thanked Nigerians for their “patience, resilience and understanding,” assuring them that the difficult phase is “gradually yielding positive outcomes.”
He also praised governors for no longer needing federal bailouts to pay salaries—a marked shift from the frequent state-level fiscal crises that characterised previous administrations.
The gathering, which included Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu as host, projected an image of cohesive federal-state partnership rarely seen in Nigeria’s often fractious political landscape. Whether that unity survives the inevitable pressures of the 2027 election cycle remains an open question.
