The Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, says Nigeria would have been facing a petrol subsidy bill of about ₦53 trillion and an exchange rate of ₦3,500 to the dollar if President Bola Tinubu had not removed the subsidy.
Adedeji stated this on Sunday during an exclusive interview on Channels Television’s _Sunday Politics_, where he defended the administration’s economic reforms.
He described the removal of petrol subsidy as the right decision and the turning point for the country’s economy.
“All the good results that I will reel out soon come as a result of that courageous decision. So, it is not a mistake; it is the best thing that has happened to this country. Subsidy was evil and had been with Nigeria for decades,” he said.
According to him, the Tinubu government inherited an economy weighed down by an unsustainable subsidy regime, weak oil sector performance and a narrow tax base.
Adedeji argued that keeping the subsidy would have worsened the country’s fiscal position, especially with global energy market volatility and the crisis in Iran.
“If the subsidy had remained, the bill could have risen to about ₦53 trillion and the exchange rate weakened to ₦3,500 to the dollar,” he said.
The NRS chairman also spoke on the government’s foreign exchange reforms, and urged Nigerians to judge the administration’s policies on facts rather than emotions.
He challenged opposition figures preparing to contest in 2027 to present clear alternatives.
“What the President deserves now is support and commendation for being a statesman and not a politician. Anybody who says he is coming, just ask them, ‘What will you do differently?’
“Are they saying that it is wrong that we removed fuel subsidy? Are they saying that it is wrong that we unified the rate?” he asked.
President Tinubu announced the end of petrol subsidy in his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023. The announcement led to a sharp rise in petrol prices and pushed up the cost of transportation, food and production across the country.
Adedeji noted that while the policy increased hardship for households, it also boosted government revenue and raised allocations to federal, state and local governments through the Federation Account.
“Fuel subsidy is gone,” Tinubu had declared in his first address as president.