President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ruled out bringing back petrol subsidy, saying Nigeria could no longer afford to continue paying for it when he took office.
Speaking to members of the City Boy Movement at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday, October 19, 2026, Tinubu explained why he removed the subsidy on his first day in office.
He said:
“I came and I removed subsidy the first day. I knew Nigeria would go bankrupt. There was nothing left to pay subsidy. I could listen to my political opponents promising a return to subsidy.
” I remember my scripture studies, both in the Bible and in the Holy Quran. When Moses and Musa left Egypt, they faced a challenge, and the Red Sea parted and gave way. You cannot ask Moses to go back to Egypt.
“With your energy and support, never will we go back to Egypt. We will campaign with our ideas, original thoughts and deep thinking to move this country forward.”
