Petrol subsidy would have cost Nigeria N53trn, pushed naira to N3,500/$ — NRS Boss

Nigeria’s petrol subsidy could have cost the Federal Government as much as N53 trillion under current global market conditions and driven the naira to approximately N3,500 per dollar, Nigeria Revenue Service Chairman Zacch Adedeji has projected.

Speaking on Channels Television, as reported by Tribune,Adedeji argued that retaining the subsidy removed by President Bola Tinubu in May 2023 would have imposed catastrophic fiscal and foreign exchange pressures on the economy, particularly given ongoing Iran-related global energy disruptions.

“The subsidy today would have been N53 trillion if Mr President had not removed it,” he said, adding that the policy was effectively being financed through borrowed funds. “Subsidy is not an income. It is like you are borrowing money to buy a product and that product is N10, and you are selling it at N3,” he stated.

Adedeji rejected calls for a pre-removal fiscal buffer, describing the subsidy as an unsustainable liability rather than a government income stream.