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| NANS President, Babatunde Akinteye |
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has urged Nigerians, particularly the youth, to reject calls by some politicians for the return of fuel subsidy, insisting that the focus should instead be on ensuring accountability in the use of savings from its removal.
NANS National President, Babatunde Akinteye, made the call on Tuesday in Akure, Ondo State, while speaking at a youth summit themed “Unlocking Ondo State Students’ Potentials for Economic Growth.” The event was sponsored by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
Akinteye noted that Nigeria operated a fuel subsidy regime for about four decades, during which successive governments, economists and policy analysts agreed that the policy was financially unsustainable. He argued that rather than advocating a return to subsidy payments, citizens should demand transparency and accountability in how the funds saved from its removal are being utilised.
“We should monitor the money being saved from the removal of fuel subsidy and ensure it is channelled into projects and programmes that benefit all Nigerians instead of returning to a system where a few individuals cornered resources meant for the entire country,” he said.
The student leader recalled that even during the subsidy era, Nigerians continued to experience persistent fuel scarcity despite heavy government spending. He also noted that petrol prices had begun to decline before the outbreak of the Iran-United States conflict, which later contributed to a rise in fuel prices.
Akinteye questioned the practicality of restoring fuel subsidy, asking where the resources would come from to sustain such payments. He pointed out that previous administrations often resorted to borrowing to finance the subsidy and, in some cases, to pay workers’ salaries. In contrast, he said loans today are largely tied to specific capital projects rather than recurrent expenditure such as salaries or fuel subsidy.
“We should not return to that era,” he declared.
According to the NANS president, anyone aspiring to lead Nigeria should present practical plans on how savings from subsidy removal would be invested to improve citizens’ lives, rather than simply promising to restore the subsidy. He cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as one of the intervention programmes that has benefited many students since the removal of the subsidy.
Akinteye further observed that provisions for fuel subsidy payments had already been discontinued in the 2023 Appropriation Bill prepared under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, and that both past and present administrations had consistently maintained that the subsidy was unsustainable.
He described proposals by some political figures to reintroduce the subsidy as political rhetoric rather than realistic economic policy. The focus, he insisted, should remain on ensuring that savings from the removal are prudently managed for national development rather than returning to a policy that had already proved unsustainable.
The NANS position comes amid ongoing political debates ahead of the 2027 general elections, with some presidential aspirants calling for a return to fuel subsidy while the ruling party and government officials defend the removal as a necessary reform.