President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said, the removal of fuel subsidy saved Nigeria from bankruptcy.
The President made the statement during his speech when he hosted Governors who came to celebrate Sallah with him, as well as, his administration’s third anniversary.
The fuel subsidy was removed by the Tinubu administration, one of the first things the President did immediately he assumed office.
A State House Press Release signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, on Friday 29 May, 2026, reads: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday said the removal of fuel subsidy by his administration saved the country from imminent bankruptcy and laid the foundation for the gradual recovery of the nation’s economy.”
Several Governors attended, including, “Lagos, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi, Taraba, Niger, Ekiti, Delta, Ondo, Edo, Adamawa, Benue, Enugu, Ogun, and Kogi States, as well as the deputy governors of Borno and Kano”, according to SHPR.
The President confessed, the removal of the fuel subsidy was actually “difficult and painful for many Nigerians”, however said, “it became necessary to rescue the country from fiscal collapse and restore economic stability”.
According to the SHPR, President Tinubu said: “It was challenging at the time, but we survived. We face litigation and accusations. We survived them. Instead of bankruptcy, Nigeria has survived. The economy has recovered. It is growing. Agriculture is booming.
“Today I was watching some clips of the Sokoto -Badagry axis. Imagine how many dams on that corridor for irrigation, for farm land, for electricity. Well, many of you have survived and promoted the perseverance of many of our people, asking them to trust this government, and you have built that trust around one person: my leadership. I thank you very much.”
The Nigerian Leader thanked Nigerians for their “patience, resilience and understanding”, and assured the “difficult phase was gradually yielding positive outcomes”.
According to the SHPR, the President also said: “I’m glad governors are no longer borrowing from the federal government and asking for interventions and not knowing how to survive, how to pay salaries, no more. You kept the spirit, you kept the hope.
“You persuaded our people to be patient and endure these three years of painful reform, during which we put the economy on a reset. Today, the benefits are showing.
“The economy has recovered. Macroeconomic indices are doing very well. Construction is ongoing on roads and infrastructure; the ones abandoned have been rehabilitated.
“The housing industry is coming on very well. Agriculture will prosper again. We will achieve food sovereignty if we utilise the land that is in your possession and in your various states effectively.”
