President Bola Tinubu has ruled out a return to fuel subsidy, insisting that he has no regrets over its removal and that Nigeria cannot return to the policy.
Tinubu spoke on Monday at a forum titled “Together Till 2027: An Evening with Original City Boy,” organised by the City Boy Movement in collaboration with the Relax-Tinubu-Is-Fixing-Nigeria movement, both of which are campaigning for his re-election in 2027.
The president said Nigeria was heading towards bankruptcy before his administration removed the subsidy, criticising former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, over his promise to restore it.
Drawing a comparison with the biblical account of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, Tinubu said the country could not afford to reverse the decision.
“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,” he said.
He added, “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.”
Tinubu maintained that Nigeria’s economy was growing steadily and expressed confidence that the country was moving in the right direction despite the difficulties associated with his administration’s economic reforms.
He urged his supporters to view the 2027 presidential election as a contest over their future rather than merely a campaign for his political ambition.
“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,” the president said.
Acknowledging the economic challenges Nigerians had faced over the past three years, Tinubu said his administration had taken difficult decisions and chosen to accept responsibility for the country’s challenges rather than focus on the failures of previous governments.
“We understood that a nation cannot borrow its way to greatness,” he said.
The president also dismissed expectations that young Nigerians would reject his economic reforms, pointing to the presence of youths at the campaign-related gathering as evidence of their support.
“They were wrong. You are here,” he said.
Ahead of the January 16, 2027 presidential election, Tinubu urged young supporters to take his message to university campuses, markets and villages across the country.
On education financing, the president reaffirmed his support for the Students Loan Act, which he signed into law in 2023, saying he had no regrets about the initiative.
He added that more than one million students had received support through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), established to provide financial assistance to eligible students pursuing higher education.
Tinubu’s remarks come as the debate over fuel subsidy, the cost of living and the direction of Nigeria’s economic reforms continues to feature prominently in political discussions ahead of the 2027 general elections.
