Tinubu Speaks On Returning Fuel Subsidy

President Bola Tinubu has firmly ruled out any possibility of reinstating the petrol subsidy regime, declaring that his administration has no regrets over the policy decision and insisting that Nigeria will never reverse its economic reforms.

Speaking on Monday at an interactive youth forum titled Together till 2027: An Evening with Original City Boy, organized by the City Boy Movement in collaboration with the Relax-Tinubu-Is-Fixing-Nigeria campaign group, the President asserted that the country was heading toward financial bankruptcy prior to the subsidy removal.

Addressing political opponents—including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), who promised to restore petrol subsidies—Tinubu drew scriptural parallels to illustrate the irreversible nature of the reform.

I could listen to my political opponents promising a return to subsidy. Most of all, sometimes I remember my scripture studies, both the Bible and the Holy Quran. When Moses left Egypt, they faced the challenge, and the Red Sea parted and gave way, President Tinubu stated.

You cannot ask Moses to go back to Egypt. We wake up with ideas, original thoughts, and deep thinking to move this country forward. With your energy, your support, we will never go back to Egypt. No regrets, he added, affirming that national economic indicators show steady recovery and growth.

Urging young supporters to view the upcoming 2027 presidential election as a contest for their personal economic future rather than his individual political ambition, the President highlighted the importance of active civic participation.

Nigeria must win this election before any candidate does. You are not campaigning for me. You are campaigning for your own future, and that future is renewed hope. There’s nothing that will push us back, Tinubu asserted.

Acknowledging the economic challenges experienced over the past three years, Tinubu explained that his administration deliberately chose to confront long-standing structural deficits head-on rather than rely on unsustainable external borrowing.

We understood that a nation cannot borrow its way to greatness, he emphasized, noting that critics who predicted youth resistance to his structural reforms had been proven wrong.

Looking ahead to the January 16, 2027 presidential election, President Tinubu charged youth delegates to take his administration’s reform message directly to university campuses, local markets, and rural communities nationwide.

Reassuring the gathering of his commitment to social mobility, the President defended the implementation of the Students Loan Act, confirming that over one million tertiary students have accessed financial assistance through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).