President Bola Tinubu has ruled out a return to petrol subsidy, insisting that he has no regrets about removing it on his first day in office and declaring that Nigeria would not return to what he likened to the biblical Israelites’ life in Egypt.
The President spoke on Monday evening at Together till 2027: An Evening with Original City Boy, an event organised by the City Boy Movement in collaboration with the Relax-Tinubu-Is-Fixing-Nigeria movement as part of efforts to mobilise support for his re-election bid.
Tinubu said the country was on the verge of bankruptcy when he assumed office on May 29, 2023, arguing that the government could no longer sustain the subsidy regime.
“I came, and I removed the subsidy the first day,” he said, adding that there was “nothing left to pay subsidy.”
Responding to political opponents advocating a return to fuel subsidy, the President invoked the biblical account of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt, insisting that the country should not reverse the policy.
“You cannot ask Moses to go back to Egypt,” Tinubu said.
He added, “We wake up with ideas, original thoughts, and deep thinking to move this country forward. With your energy, your support, Nigeria will never go back to Egypt. No regrets.”
The President said Nigeria was moving in the right direction economically, citing China’s reported economic growth of about 4.6 per cent as he expressed confidence in the country’s future.
“The economy is growing steadily. You will have a future, a future to believe in,” he said.
Tinubu urged young Nigerians to support his administration ahead of the 2027 presidential election, saying the outcome would have implications for their future.
“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,” he said.
He also called on young people to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards and mobilise others to participate in the election.
“Make sure every young person you know has a PVC and use it. Tell them what we have done, and tell them what we will do. Campaign with your ideas,” he said.
Tinubu defends economic reforms
The President acknowledged that the past three years had been difficult but defended the decisions taken by his administration, saying they were necessary to address the country’s economic challenges.
He said the government inherited outstanding obligations to airlines, weak foreign reserves and a practice of excessive currency printing.
“We owed money to airlines. They were almost cutting their flights to Nigeria. Our foreign reserve was nothing. We printed currencies as if there were no tomorrow,” he said.
Tinubu said he chose to take responsibility for the country’s challenges rather than dwell on the shortcomings of his predecessor’s administration.
“We understood that a nation cannot borrow its way to greatness,” he said, adding that critics had wrongly predicted that young Nigerians would reject the reforms.
The President also defended the Students Loan Act, which he signed in 2023, saying he had no regrets about the decision.
“Today, more than a million students have been supported through NELFUND,” he said.
He further praised his son, Seyi Tinubu, for engaging young people and organising them through the City Boy Movement, urging him to sustain his efforts.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima said the Nigerian economy could have collapsed if Tinubu had not taken what he described as far-reaching decisions.
He credited the administration’s policies with helping to reposition the economy, citing reported growth of 4.43 per cent in the last quarter and foreign reserves approaching $60bn.
“The President took those far-reaching decisions. He had the courage of conviction and the knowledge to take those far-reaching decisions that repositioned the Nigerian economy, so that now, the economy grew by 4.43 per cent in the last quarter,” Shettima said.
He acknowledged that Nigerians had endured economic hardship but argued that the situation could have been worse without the reforms.
“Your Excellency, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the President has to be commended, not demonised. Yes, Nigerians have gone through some tough times, but it could have been worse,” he said.
Shettima also promised that the government would introduce measures to address agricultural challenges and bring down food prices.
“Be reassured that in the coming weeks, the President will come up with robust responses to agricultural challenges, and prices of foodstuffs will certainly come down,” he said.
“I urge the youth of Nigeria. I beseech thee. I implore you to go out to the streets and tell the truth to other Nigerians,” the Vice-President said.
Atiku’s subsidy proposal criticised
Tinubu’s remarks came amid debate over a proposal by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to reintroduce a form of petrol subsidy if elected president.
Atiku, in an English rendering of a Hausa-language interview published on August 20, said: “If elected, I will bring back the oil subsidy.”
He has, however, proposed a capped and audited production subsidy linked to domestic refining, arguing that the plan would not restore the former subsidy system in its previous form.
The Presidency criticised the proposal, describing it as a return to what it called a “wasteful, corruption-ridden and financially burdensome” arrangement.
Barau urges AI-driven campaign
Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin praised the City Boy Movement, describing it as a political organisation that uses human mobilisation alongside technology and artificial intelligence.
He urged the group to incorporate Tinubu’s political philosophy and record into its AI-generated content and use the platform to challenge claims by opposition candidates.
Barau said the movement should provide information about the administration’s policies and explain the factors contributing to the rising cost of living, which he partly attributed to international conflict.
Abbas promises public audit
Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas announced plans to publish an account of Tinubu’s interventions in his Zaria constituency in Kaduna State.
He said he would hold a media briefing within 14 days to present details of projects and interventions, alongside a record of the House’s legislative and oversight activities undertaken in partnership with the administration.
“It will not be a celebration; it will be an audit. Every intervention will carry a location, a value and a status,” Abbas said.
He added that unfinished projects would also be disclosed.
“And where something remains undone, I will say so, because an account that tries to hide its gap is merely an advertisement,” he said.
Abbas urged political officeholders to account for their contributions to the administration and proposed a common reporting format, with a 90-day timeframe.
He also called on the City Boy Movement to verify claims about projects by photographing sites and organising town hall meetings where officeholders could answer questions from constituents.
