*Femi Falana, SAN, human rights lawyer, political leaders, and other Nigerians interrogate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s fuel subsidy removal policy pronouncement since May 29, 2023, asking what the extra funds accruing to the Nigerian Government at all levels from termination of the subsidy regime ‘are being used for’
Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect
Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, human rights lawyer, has again, interrogated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s fuel subsidy removal policy pronouncement since May 29, 2023.
Falana, who stated this while featuring on a ChannelsTV programme Sunday, August 30, 2026, and monitored in Lagos, questioned what the extra funds accrued to governments from termination of the controversial subsidy regime are being used for.
Nigeria affirms $750m investments in cloud and data infrastructure, push for AI sovereignty
ConsumerConnect reports the leading human rights lawyers said noted millions of Nigerian consumers are yet to feel the impact of funds saved from the move till this day.
Lawyer carpets States, Local Councils over alleged irresponsibility, neglect
Lamenting the apparent irresponsibility on the part of some state governments and local councils despite more money being made available to them from the Federation Account, Falana on the programme, said “I was just reading some news about a particular road in Ekiti State, the road that leads to Afe Babalola University (ABU).
“And everybody there is asking the Abuja people to come and fix the road, whereas between January and May this year, that local government had taken about N5.4 billion.”
He equally quipped: “So, you can’t fix a road with less than 500 million naira? And in any case, state governments were fixing roads, and they would then go to Abuja to ask for a refund.
“So, we must begin to ask questions of the local government, the state government, and the Federal Government.
“If you say we are making more money, we don’t want to go back to the era of the fuel subsidy scam. Where are the benefits? It’s a fallacy being told to wait and wait and wait. People are dying.”
‘Nigeria selling more crude, making more money,’ Falana insists
According to Falana, in view of the recent increment in crude prices in the international oil market, Nigeria is selling more crude oil, and is also “making more money.”
He stated: “Now, the money earmarked for fuel importation by the government—$10 billion per annum—ought to have been saved, but the bulk of this money goes for servicing of debt. That’s where the problem lies.”
The human rights lawyer as noted that with more money accruing to the Nigerian Government across all tiers, citizens should demand accountability from their leaders.
He averred: “Yes, state governments are getting more money. The Federal Government is getting more money.
“Local governments are getting more money on paper.
“It is the duty of the Nigerian people now to demand accountability.”
Federal Government defends subsidy regime had ‘bled the treasury dry’
In defence of the current administration’s express discontinuation of the fuel subsidy regime since 2023, the Federal Government has explained how it deploys savings from subsidy removal.
Alhaji Tunde Rahman, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to President Tinubu on Media and Special Duties, in his recent published piece titled, “Atiku’s subsidy push and echoes of desperation”, for instance, emphasised that the subsidy money given to a few individuals oil merchants at the time “should have built schools, roads and bridges, and financed education.
“Instead, it subsidised smuggling to neighbouring countries and made a few marketers billionaires overnight.”
He also argued that from January to May 2023 alone, when the subsidy ended, the late Muhammadu Buhari administration spent over N3 trillion.
According to official figures, between 2006 and 2023, Nigeria spent over ₦15 trillion on fuel subsidy.
The government then, financed the bill through debts and “Ways and Means”.
However, since Tinubu administration’s subsidy removal May 2023, observers have attributed the development to increments in costs of essential commodities across Nigeria.
The government defended the action, stating that subsidy payment was not budgeted for as of the time (May 2023), when President Tinubu took over the reins of governance.
The government has continued to maintain that state governments now have more funds for development projects at the subnational level in the economy.
Yet, critics have faulted the policy, insisting that the quality of life of several millions of Nigerians has not improved since the removal of subsidy.
Subsidy removal blues as electioneering begins in Nigeria
Recently, this controversial economic policy has been a subject of intense debates, especially since the commencement of electioneering for the January 2027 Presidential and National Assembly (NASS) elections in the West African country.
Besides, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress, has been inconsistent in his public pronouncements on whether he will restore the controversial fuel subsidy, or otherwise as part of his electoral campaign promises, according to reports.
However, Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress is said to have backed the subsidy removal policy, but that the funds accruing to the government from it should be used judiciously for socio-economic empowerment of Nigerians.
Pingback:Nigeria affirms $750m investments in cloud and data infrastructure, push for AI sovereignty - Consumer Experience Is A Top Priority