President Bola Tinubu has ruled out any possibility of restoring the petrol subsidy, insisting that his administration’s economic reforms remain necessary to secure Nigeria’s financial future.
The President spoke on Monday when he received leaders of the City Boy Movement (CBM) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where he urged members of the group to mobilise Nigerians and campaign for his re-election in the January 2027 presidential election.
Tinubu commended the movement for engaging young Nigerians and defending his administration’s policies, urging its members to educate voters about the government’s achievements.
Reflecting on his three years in office, the President said his administration inherited significant economic challenges but had taken difficult decisions to address them.
“The road we have walked these past three years has not been easy. We took hard decisions. When I came in, we were unable to pay even salaries. We were owing money to airlines; they are almost cutting their flights to Nigeria. Our foreign reserve was nothing. We printed currencies as if there’s no tomorrow,” he said.
Tinubu said rather than dwell on the shortcomings of the previous administration, he accepted responsibility for the inherited liabilities and embarked on reforms, including restructuring the tax system.
He said the reforms had demonstrated that young Nigerians could support difficult economic decisions when they understood their long-term benefits.
The President also cited his administration’s efforts to address prolonged industrial disputes in the university system, saying he had promised to end strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and ensure that four-year degree programmes were completed within four years.
He thanked young Nigerians for supporting his government, particularly through advocacy in markets, university campuses, motor parks and on social media, despite criticism of some of his policies.
“You were patient when patience was hard. You defended this administration and the markets, on the campuses, in the motor parks, and on social media, often when it was not popular to do so. I saw it, I noticed, and I will never forget it,” he said.
Tinubu also highlighted the Student Loan Act, which he signed into law, describing it as part of his administration’s efforts to expand opportunities for young Nigerians.
He said initiatives such as the Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) were designed to help young workers acquire assets, including laptops, cars, motorcycles and solar power systems, without depending entirely on personal savings.
The President added that his administration’s three MTT initiatives were conceived to help young Nigerians develop their skills and compete globally while remaining in the country.
Commending the CBM leadership, Tinubu expressed confidence that their contributions to national development would be recognised by future generations. He also offered prayers for his son, Seyi Tinubu, the movement’s patron, and other leaders of the group.
On calls by opposition politicians for the restoration of petrol subsidy, the President maintained that the policy would not be reversed.
“I came and I removed subsidy the first day. No Nigeria will go bankrupt. Yes, nothing left to pay subsidy. I could listen to my political opponents promising a return to subsidy,” he said.
Drawing an analogy from the biblical and Quranic account of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt, Tinubu said Nigeria must resist the temptation to return to its previous economic policies.
“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, never will go back to Egypt. No regrets,” he said.
The President maintained that the economy was growing steadily and insisted that his administration was pursuing the right course.
Earlier, Vice President Kashim Shettima praised Tinubu for implementing what he described as necessary structural reforms rather than merely paying lip service to economic transformation.
Shettima said the President’s policies had helped prevent a deeper economic crisis that could have resulted from continued delays in implementing reforms.
He argued that the economy would have collapsed without the measures introduced by the administration to address longstanding structural weaknesses.
The Vice President also disclosed that Tinubu would soon unveil measures to tackle challenges in the agricultural sector, expressing optimism that the initiatives would help bring down food prices.
