Nigerians lived in “window-dressed realities” before subsidy removal – Oyedele 

The removal of fuel subsidy has been hailed as a pivotal decision to confront long-standing economic challenges.

This is according to Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms.

Speaking at The Platform, an annual event organized by Covenant Nation in Lagos, Oyedele outlined how previous subsidy regimes perpetuated economic distortions that gave Nigerians a false sense of financial stability.

Oyedele argued that while subsidies made fuel, electricity, and other essentials appear affordable, they masked the unsustainable fiscal realities underpinning the Nigerian economy.

“Removing subsidies is the best decision we made as a country. And we can now say that for once, the subsidy is gone,” Oyedele stated. 

“We were living in window-dressed realities. If you look back to about two years ago, the naira exchange rate was N450 depending on who you asked. But was our exchange rate really N450? If you wanted to buy petrol, it was under N200 per…