Every Minister Knew Fuel Subsidy Was Killing Nigeria — Kemi Adeosun

Former Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, has alleged that ministers appointed at the time she served in office were aware that fuel subsidy was not beneficial to the country, and that it was time to stop voting funds for it.

Adeosun made the allegation on Channels Television’s Inside Sources on Friday.

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The former minister resigned in 2018 following allegations that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate she submitted as part of her official records was forged.

President Bola Tinubu, in May 2023, announced an end to fuel subsidies after it gulped cumulatively $74 billion (N112.94 trillion) from 2005 to 2021.

President Tinubu’s administration, despite declaring subsidies “gone,” faced massive “under-recovery” costs, with NNPC reporting N17.5 trillion in energy security/subsidy-related expenses in late 2024 for the prior period, highlighting a massive drain on government revenue, according to the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

While explaining her take on the removal of subsidies, Adeosun revealed that although the federal government eventually discovered that fuel was being smuggled to neighbouring countries, it was unable to summon the courage to remove subsidies.

“There was no minister who did not see that subsidy was killing us.

“We tried different things to stop fuel subsidy. Do you remember Sure-P? We knew that Nigeria has four international borders. And then you are subsidsing, but your own fuel was 44 per cent lower than that sold in other countries, and they are land borders.

“So, sometimes we ended up with a consumption base of like 65 million litres per day. So we did the maths.

“Nigeria had had like 10 million cars at the time, so what’s going on? It was not just possible!

“We concluded that we could not just remove the subsidy because it was going to affect the people.

“So we agreed to put trackers, and in no time, we found out the truth.

“What it meant was that the federal government was not subsidising just Nigeria, but the whole of West Africa, which we could not afford to do.

“Now, the money you spend on subsidies was money you could not spend on roads, education, or health. And there was nothing to show for the fuel subsidy. So, everybody knew that policy had to go,” she said.

Adeosun, however, added that since the subsidy has been removed by President Bola Tinubu, the federal government has to deploy the savings from its removal to provide structural amenities for the masses.

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She urged the masses to ask their leaders questions on how the budget was being utilised.

Adeosum, however, called for patience from the masses, saying that fuel subsidy removal would eventually pay off.

“Now that the policy is gone, of course, there are some overspills, but in the long run, Nigerians are going to be so much better off on that, because if you look at the revenues going to FAAC, they are significant.

“So, the question has to be…how do you convert those savings to help the people? We call them policy overspills. I don’t like the word palliative. The government has to do something structural to help people adapt to these policy changes.

“When governors publish their budgets, people have to look and ask intelligent questions. Not emotional ones, and conclude that the government is stealing money. They may not be stealing. They may just have a huge workforce and bloated budgets, but people need to ask questions,” Adeosun said.

While speaking on Thursday’s edition of Inside Sources, the former minister said the NYSC certificate issue was used as an “opportunity to get rid of her” by those opposed to her continued stay in the cabinet.

She explained that before resigning, she informed President Buhari of the development and her intention to initiate legal proceedings against the federal government over the matter.

Her words, “I’m not confused about the fact that I had powerful enemies who I believed saw an opportunity. Let’s get rid of her.

“No one resigned in finance, but I did. Why did I resign? The day I resigned, I went to go and see the president. I said, ‘Mr President, I need to go, but I will go to court to clear my name.

“He said, ‘I absolutely support you. Because these names are leased for our children and grandchildren, right? They are going to inherit them.

“And then you destroy your name because you want to stay as a minister. For what?”

According to Adeosun, she decided to step down because she could not remain in the Federal Executive Council while pursuing legal action against the government.

“I sued the federal government. You can’t be suing the government and staying in the government. You can’t. You have to go. I think it is the right thing to do,” she said.