Sanwo-Olu: Bringing Back Fuel Subsidy Empty Campaign Buzz, Not Realistic

• Says move though hurtful to citizens healing Nigerian economy  

•Governor discusses gains, prospects of Tinubu’s reforms 

•Says Nigeria’s democratic, electoral systems evolving

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday dismissed a promise by opposition politicians, especially former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, to restore fuel subsidy if elected in 2027, describing such commitments as empty campaign rhetoric that is neither fiscally realistic nor sustainable.

Sanwo-Olu, who spoke while delivering the 7th Freedom Online Newspaper Lecture in Lagos, said politicians seeking to make the return of fuel subsidy a major campaign issue ahead of the 2027 general election were resorting to populism and making promises that no responsible government could sustain.

The lecture, with the theme: “2027 Elections, Economy, Security and Nigeria’s Future”, was chaired by a former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at the Sheraton Lagos Hotels, Ikeja, while a former Ogun State Governor and Senator representing Ogun East, Gbenga Daniel, was the Special Guest of Honour at the event.

Sanwo-Olu, who examined the ongoing economic reforms, security situation and electoral reforms being undertaken by the federal government, argued that the removal of the subsidy was a difficult but necessary decision to prevent the continued depletion of public finances, a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Gbenga Akosile, said.

According to him, the subsidy regime was originally conceived as a temporary intervention to address shortcomings in domestic fuel supply arising from the inefficiency of state-owned refineries, but had over time become an unsustainable drain on the country’s resources.

“The oil subsidy was not removed because anybody enjoyed removing it. It was removed because it had become a hole in the national purse through which the money for roads, schools and hospitals was draining away.

“The intervention was never reaching the ordinary motorist it was supposed to help. In the build up to the 2023 elections, every major candidate promised to remove it. Only one of them was in a position to do it, and he did it on his first day in office.

“I will not stand here and tell you that oil subsidy removal has been painless. It has not. Lagosians particularly have felt it at the pump, at the market, and in the price of a bag of rice.

“Any governor who tells you otherwise has not been listening to his own people. But, the measure of a reform is not whether it hurts. It is whether it heals. And the evidence that this one is healing is now arriving, quarter by quarter,” Sanwo-Olu said.

The Lagos governor said President Bola Tinubu took a decision that previous administrations had avoided because of its potential political consequences, despite the enormous financial cost of maintaining the subsidy regime.

He maintained that the savings from the removal had significantly improved revenues accruing to the states and local governments, insisting that subnational governments now had greater resources to address infrastructure and social needs.

“Under President Tinubu, the states have had it very good. Since the subsidy was removed, the monthly allocations to States and local governments have more than doubled in Naira terms. The President has done his part; the money is arriving.

“Barely two weeks into the season of presidential election campaign, opposition politicians have reached for the fuel subsidy as their instrument of choice. We will see more of this. We will see promises that no treasury on earth could honour,” he added.

Sanwo-Olu said he remained convinced that the reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration were beginning to produce positive outcomes, despite the hardship and pain associated with the adjustment process.

He pointed to recent economic indicators, including improved growth, increased external reserves, a trade surplus, declining inflation and improved credit ratings, as evidence that the reforms were gradually stabilising the economy.

“In nominal terms, the national economy is more than 18 per cent larger than it was 12 months ago. Our external reserves stood at $53 billion last week, the highest they have been since January 2009.

“We are running a trade surplus. Both Fitch and Moody upgraded Nigeria’s credit rating. Inflation, which peaked at almost 35 per cent at the end of 2024, was 15.9 per cent last June. The Naira has held its ground against the dollar for the better part of a year.

“This week, too, the Central Bank reported that Nigerians abroad sent home $947 million through formal channels in the month of July. That is the largest monthly figure in our history, and it is within touching distance of the $1 billion-a-month target that many people laughed at when it was set two years ago.

“ These statistics are not my numbers; they belong to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Central Bank of Nigeria, and every journalist seeking facts can check them,” the governor stated.

On the country’s democratic journey, Sanwo-Olu said Nigeria’s democratic and electoral systems had continued to evolve significantly since the return to civilian rule in 1999.

He noted that Nigeria had maintained democratic stability at a period when military takeovers had disrupted constitutional governance in several countries in the West African sub-region, including Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea-Bissau.

According to him, reforms in the electoral process, including legislative changes and the deployment of technology, had helped to strengthen the country’s democratic institutions and correct weaknesses that contributed to the collapse of previous republics.

“Our elections have improved. Anyone who covered the elections of the 2000s knows how far we have come. Much of that distance was travelled under the All Progressives Congress’ watch. The ruling party initiated the Electoral Act of 2022 and now the Electoral Act of 2026, and the technology that verifies voters and transmits results.

“This is not the moment to rest on our oars. INEC must be ready in every polling unit on January 16, 2027, and again on February 6, 2027. Each of us has a duty to help the electoral umpire be ready,” Sanwo-Olu said.

On security, the governor acknowledged that perceptions of safety differed across the country but argued that the Tinubu administration had given the security architecture considerable attention.

He said the federal government had strengthened the capacity of the armed forces and other security agencies while simultaneously addressing poverty and unemployment, which he described as major drivers of insecurity.

“Consider what has been done in the last three years. In July, President Tinubu approved the expansion of the Nigerian Army from eight divisions to twelve, with 28,000 additional personnel and new divisional headquarters in Makurdi, Ilorin, Jalingo and Benin City, closer to the theatres where they are needed.

“The Navy has a new Special Operations Command. Police training has been decentralised. Forest Guards and Mining Marshals now operate in spaces that were, for years, simply ungoverned,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu further argued that job creation remained one of the most effective long-term responses to insecurity, saying the administration’s youth-focused interventions were designed to reduce poverty and provide economic opportunities for young Nigerians.

He listed the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation, the 3-Million Technical Talent programme and reforms to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) among initiatives aimed at improving the prospects of young people. “The President believes the most effective security policy is job creation, and the surest guarantee of a job is a country safe enough to invest in. The President’s interventions have gone straight at the poverty that feeds insecurity, and straight at the demographic with the most to gain or to lose, which is our young people.

“NELFUND is keeping students in school who would otherwise have dropped out. The Consumer Credit Corporation is building the credit culture without which no modern economy functions,” he stated.

Mohammed, in his remarks, described the Freedom Online lecture as an intellectual platform and a staple for national reflection, saying Sanwo-Olu was well suited to speak on the challenges of governance, security, infrastructure and economic development.

He stressed that political stability depended substantially on economic inclusion and security, noting that sustainable economic growth could not flourish in an atmosphere of uncertainty.

“When young people are gainfully employed and see a clear path to self-actualisation, the political space becomes far less susceptible to manipulation and electoral violence. The 2027 election must be viewed not merely as a contest for power, but as a commitment to continuity and nation-building.

“Politics must never be allowed to override governance. The real measure of our democratic progress is whether our electoral outcomes strengthen institutions, bolster investor confidence and guarantee peace across our communities,” Mohammed said.

The former minister acknowledged that the federal government was confronting difficult challenges in the areas of security and economic reform, but said the problems could not be resolved overnight.

“They require consistency, patience, institutional strengthening and, above all, national cooperation,” he added.

Earlier, the Convener and Editor-in-Chief of Freedom Online, Mr. Gabriel Akinadewo, said the lecture was organised against the backdrop of renewed political activities and the need for political leaders to place national development above partisan interests.

Akinadewo also called for the modernisation of Nigeria’s laws to bring them in line with 21st-century realities and aspirations, stressing the need to discard obsolete laws and build a stronger legal framework capable of protecting the freedoms and rights of citizens.