The National Association of Nigerian Students NANS has urged Nigerians, particularly youths, to reject calls by some politicians for the restoration of the fuel subsidy regime.
The students’ body said rather than advocating a return to subsidy payments, Nigerians should demand transparency and accountability in the management of funds saved following the removal of the subsidy.
NANS National President, Babatunde Akinteye, made the call on Tuesday in Akure, Ondo State, while speaking at a youth summit themed, ‘Unlocking Ondo State Students’ Potentials for Economic Growth.’
The summit was sponsored by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
Akinteye said Nigeria had operated the fuel subsidy regime for about four decades, during which successive administrations, economists and policy analysts had acknowledged that the policy was financially unsustainable.
He urged Nigerians to focus on monitoring the savings generated from subsidy removal and ensuring that the funds were channelled into projects and programmes that would improve citizens’ welfare.
“We should monitor the money being saved from the removal of fuel subsidy and ensure it is channelled into projects and programmes that benefit all Nigerians instead of returning to a system where a few individuals cornered resources meant for the entire country,” he said.
The NANS president recalled that Nigerians continued to experience fuel scarcity during the subsidy era despite the huge amounts spent by successive governments to maintain the policy.
He also attributed the recent rise in petrol prices partly to the Iran-US conflict, noting that prices had started declining before the conflict broke out.
Akinteye questioned the financial sustainability of restoring the subsidy, asking where the government would obtain the resources required to continue funding it.
“Previous administrations often resorted to borrowing to finance fuel subsidy and, in some instances, to pay workers’ salaries.
“Today, loans are largely tied to specific capital projects rather than recurrent expenditure such as salaries or fuel subsidy. We should not return to that era,” he declared.
He urged politicians seeking to lead the country to present practical plans for investing the savings from subsidy removal in ways that would directly benefit Nigerians, rather than campaigning on promises to restore the subsidy.
According to him, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund is one of the intervention programmes that has benefited many students since the subsidy was removed.
The NANS president further argued that provisions for fuel subsidy payments had already been discontinued in the 2023 Appropriation Bill prepared under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said successive administrations had also maintained that the subsidy regime was no longer sustainable.
Akinteye described proposals by some political figures to restore the subsidy as political rhetoric rather than a realistic economic policy.
“Focus should remain on ensuring that savings from subsidy removal are prudently managed for national development rather than returning to a policy that had proved unsustainable,” he stated.
The development comes amid growing political debate over the future of Nigeria’s fuel subsidy policy.
The All Progressives Congress has recently criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to restore the subsidy, while the African Democratic Congress has challenged the Federal Government to account for the ₦15.8 trillion in additional revenues it said accrued from the reforms.
APC National Chairman, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, also warned that Atiku’s proposal could reverse gains recorded under the ongoing economic reforms, with potential consequences for workers’ wages, education, infrastructure and the fiscal stability of states.
