By: Odeh Favour Adiya
The Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, has stated that Nigeria’s petrol subsidy bill could have risen to about N53 trillion, with the exchange rate weakening to N3,500 to the dollar, if the policy had not been abolished.
Adedeji made the disclosure during an exclusive interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme while defending President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms.
Describing the decision to eliminate the subsidy as the best step for the nation, the NRS boss argued that the move directly contributed to the positive financial outcomes currently being recorded by the government.
“All the good results that I will reel out soon come as a result of that courageous decision (subsidy removal). 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.
He explained that President Tinubu inherited an economy burdened by an unsustainable subsidy regime, an underperforming oil sector, and a narrow tax base.
According to Adedeji, retaining the subsidy would have placed a far greater strain on the country’s finances, especially given the ongoing pressures from the global energy market and the Iran crisis.
“risen to about ₦53 trillion and the exchange rate weakened to ₦3,500 to the dollar if the subsidy had remained,” he stated.
The revenue chief also defended the administration’s foreign exchange market unification policy, urging citizens to evaluate the government’s economic measures based on facts rather than sentiment.
Addressing political opponents eyeing the 2027 presidential contest, Adedeji challenged opposition figures to clearly articulate their alternative economic strategies to Nigerians.
“What the President deserves now is support and commendation for being a statesman and not a politician. Anybody who says he is coming (to contest as president), 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 had announced during his inaugural address on May 29, 2023, that “fuel subsidy is gone.”
While the policy declaration triggered an immediate surge in petrol prices driving up transportation, food, and production costs nationwide it has simultaneously boosted government revenues and led to higher monthly Federation Account allocations across federal, state, and local governments, even as cost-of-living challenges persist.
