No More Fuel Subsidy Cash-Out, Says Oyedele

Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele told Chatham House that state borrowing is ending and the petrol subsidy “is staying gone” before January 2027 polls.

Nigeria will fund its next phase of growth with private capital from home and abroad rather than fresh state borrowing, Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said in London on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, adding that the petrol subsidy “is gone and it is staying gone.” Speaking at Chatham House, he said the country had lived on “borrowed money, and increasingly, borrowed time.”
 

Nigeria’s Finance Minister Rules Out Any Return to Fuel Subsidy at Chatham House

Nigeria will increasingly turn to private investors at home and abroad to finance its next phase of growth rather than relying on state borrowing, Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said on Wednesday, while ruling out any return to petrol subsidies.

“The next phase of growth will be financed by private capital, domestic and foreign, and not by the state borrowing more,” Oyedele said during an event at think tank Chatham House in London. Nigeria had been living on “borrowed money, and increasingly, borrowed time,” but that was coming to an end, he said.

Tinubu’s 2023 Subsidy Removal and FX Overhaul Stabilise Public Finances

President Bola Tinubu’s sweeping reforms since taking office in 2023, including scrapping the petrol subsidy and overhauling the foreign exchange regime, have helped stabilise public finances, bolster foreign reserves and attract investment. Oyedele was unequivocal about the most contested of them: “The petrol subsidy is gone and it is staying gone.”

Nigeria’s Cost-of-Living Squeeze and Cash Transfers to 10 Million Households

The measures have also inflicted a heavy cost-of-living squeeze, and the government’s challenge is increasingly to translate improved macroeconomic stability into faster growth, jobs and higher living standards. Oyedele said the best way to cushion the vulnerable was ensuring economic and wage growth as well as targeted support, adding that some 10 million households are currently receiving cash transfers. “Even though you’re promising a better future, they have to be alive to see it,” he said.

Nigeria Inflation Falls to 14.63% From 21%; Target Is Low Single Digits

Inflation, which has fallen to 14.63% from about 21% a year ago, needs to reach “low single digits over the next coming months,” he said. The National Bureau of Statistics put headline inflation at 14.63% in September 2026, down from 15.39% in August and 20.98% in the same month a year earlier.

Nigeria Targets 7% Annual Growth as IMF Forecasts 4.2% for 2026

While the IMF forecasts Nigeria’s annual economic growth at 4.2% in 2026 and 4.3% in 2027, Oyedele said such projections were “too conservative,” adding that the government is targeting average annual growth of about 7% over the next five years.

Fiscal Federalism: Nigeria to Shift Responsibilities and Revenue Powers to States

Oyedele also said the government is working to transfer more responsibilities to the states and to “enhance the ability the federal government to generate revenue without imposing burden on the people.”

The January 2027 Election Test for Nigeria’s Subsidy Policy

The pledge lands close to the campaign. Nigeria’s next general election is scheduled for January 2027, and Mr Tinubu’s main challengers have signalled they would restore the subsidy to ease household burdens. Protests over living costs, including recent demonstrations in the north, have sharpened the question of whether reform fatigue becomes a decisive electoral force.