Former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has revealed that all ministers during her tenure were aware that the fuel subsidy regime was harmful to Nigeria’s economy, but the Federal Government lacked the political will to end it.
Adeosun made the disclosure during an interview on Channels Television’s Inside Sources on Friday.
“There was no minister who did not see that subsidy was killing us,” she said.
She explained that the government’s refusal to remove the subsidy, despite glaring evidence of its abuse, resulted in Nigeria indirectly subsidising fuel for neighbouring West African countries.
Adeosun said fuel smuggling across Nigeria’s land borders made it impossible to justify the volume of daily fuel consumption figures submitted under the subsidy regime.
“Sometimes we ended up with a consumption base of like 65 million litres per day. So we did the maths. Nigeria had about 10 million cars at the time. So what’s going on? It was not just possible.
“What it meant was that the federal government was not subsidising just Nigeria, but the whole of West Africa, which we could not afford to do,” she said.
She said the funds wasted on subsidies could have been invested in critical sectors such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure.
He said, “Now, the money you spend on subsidies was money you could not spend on roads, education, or health. And there was nothing to show for the fuel subsidy. So, everybody knew that policy had to go.”
Commenting on President Bola Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidies, Adeosun called on the Federal Government to use the savings to deliver tangible benefits to Nigerians.
“Now that the policy is gone, of course, there are some overspills, but in the long run, Nigerians are going to be so much better off on that.
“The question has to be: how do you convert those savings to help the people? I don’t like the word palliative. The government has to do something structural to help people adapt to these policy changes,” she said.
She urged citizens to hold public officials accountable by questioning how state budgets are spent.
He said, “When governors publish their budgets, people have to look and ask intelligent questions. Not emotional ones, and conclude that the government is stealing money. They may not be stealing. They may just have a huge workforce and bloated budgets, but people need to ask questions.”
Adeosun also addressed her 2018 resignation over a forged NYSC certificate scandal, alleging that it was a calculated move by her political enemies to remove her from office.
She further stated, “I’m not confused about the fact that I had powerful enemies who I believed saw an opportunity, ‘Let’s get rid of her.’”
She said she informed then-President Muhammadu Buhari of her decision to resign and sue the federal government to clear her name.
The former minister said, “I said, ‘Mr President, I need to go, but I will go to court to clear my name.’ He said, ‘I absolutely support you.’”
Adeosun added that she could not remain in the Federal Executive Council while pursuing a lawsuit against the same government.
He said, “You can’t be suing the government and staying in the government. You can’t. You have to go. I think it is the right thing to do.”