Posted by Chinenye on Wed 02nd Sep, 2026 - tori.ng
The debate over fuel subsidies is heating up again as Nigerian students push back against calls to reverse the policy.
(NANS President, Babatunde Akinteye. Photo: NANS)
Nigeria's student association has called on young people to reject politicians' calls to bring back fuel subsidies, saying the focus should be on making sure the government accounts for the money saved from removing them.
The National Association of Nigerian Students says fuel subsidies have been tried for four decades and were never going to work.
The money spent on them was wasted while Nigerians still faced fuel shortages anyway.
Instead of going backwards, the students argue that people should push for transparency and demand to know where the savings are being used.
The students' leader pointed out that going back to subsidies would crush the country's finances.
Previous governments had to borrow heavily just to keep the subsidy system running, and at times those loans were used to pay workers instead of going toward development.
That cannot happen again, he said.
Today's borrowed money is tied to specific projects, not wasted on subsidies.
He argued that any politician promising to restore subsidies is selling rhetoric, not reality.
Anyone who wants to lead the country should explain how they plan to use the savings from subsidy removal to improve people's lives, not promise to undo the reform.
Since the subsidy was removed, some benefits have already emerged.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which helps students, would not exist under the old system.
The budget itself no longer sets aside money for subsidies both the previous and current governments removed it.
The ruling party has also attacked the idea of restoring subsidies, warning that it would reverse recent economic gains and drag the country back into fuel queues.