Subsidy, FX Reforms Generated ₦15.8tn For Nigeria — Tinubu Govt

The Federal Government has disclosed that the removal of fuel subsidy and reforms in the foreign exchange market generated an estimated ₦15.8 trillion in additional resources for the federation between June 2023 and December 2025.

According to IReporter Online, the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, made the disclosure on Wednesday while presenting the government’s “Nigerians’ Reform Scorecard”.

Oyedele explained that the scorecard was developed to evaluate the costs, benefits and overall impact of the economic reforms introduced by the administration.

The minister clarified that the ₦15.8 trillion did not represent a direct transfer into the Federation Account under a specific “subsidy savings” heading. Instead, he said the financial gains were realised through increased revenue collections resulting from the reforms.

He explained that the removal of the fuel subsidy and the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market increased the naira value of dollar-denominated customs duties and other government revenues.

According to Oyedele, the previous foreign exchange regime had created opportunities for arbitrage and corruption rather than delivering the expected economic stability.

He further argued that the government had effectively been subsidising foreign exchange under the previous system, with the benefits largely going to rent seekers rather than ordinary Nigerians and manufacturers.

Of the ₦15.8 trillion generated, Oyedele said the Federal Government received ₦5.4 trillion, while states and local governments collectively benefited ₦10.4 trillion through the federation allocation system.

The minister also revealed that the Federal Government generated an additional ₦3.1 trillion in independent revenue during the period, with increased remittances from government-owned entities contributing significantly to the figure.

Oyedele further disclosed that the Federal Government raised ₦11.9 trillion through additional borrowing between June 2023 and December 2025.

However, he maintained that the amount would have been considerably higher without the additional fiscal space created by the economic reforms.

He argued that the reforms helped prevent the government from relying on even greater borrowing that could have placed further pressure on the economy.

The disclosure comes amid continued debate over the impact of the government’s fuel subsidy and foreign exchange reforms on Nigerians, businesses and the wider economy.