The Federal Government on Tuesday ruled out any plan to reinstate fuel subsidy despite worsening economic hardship and mounting public pressure.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, stated this in Paris, France, during a meeting with global investors alongside President Bola Tinubu.

Oyedele said the government would also not introduce price controls, stressing that market forces remain the preferred mechanism for determining petrol prices.

“We will not bring back fuel subsidy because it creates distortions for the economy, and we won’t introduce price control because we believe in the market,” he said.

The minister argued that the subsidy regime had long undermined economic efficiency, adding that emerging global energy shifts, including developments in Iran, present fresh investment opportunities for Nigeria.

The removal of petrol subsidy in May 2023 triggered a steep rise in inflation, worsening the country’s cost-of-living crisis.

Nigeria’s headline inflation climbed from 22.41 per cent in May 2023 to 34.19 per cent by June 2024 — its highest level in nearly two decades — driven by surging fuel, food, and transportation costs.
Food inflation further accelerated, exceeding 39 per cent by October 2024, while transport fares soared by nearly 300 per cent, compounded by currency devaluation.

Despite the economic strain, Tinubu defended the policy, saying it had stabilised the foreign exchange market.

“Subsidy that was a burden to the entire country was removed, and ever since we have achieved FX stability,” the President said, according to his Special Assistant on Social Media, Dada Olusegun.

In a related statement, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the administration’s reforms were aimed at eliminating structural distortions, strengthening macroeconomic stability, and laying the foundation for inclusive growth.

He added that the government remained committed to fiscal discipline and transparency.

Highlighting economic progress, Oyedele disclosed that Nigeria recorded an 11.2 per cent growth in Gross Domestic Product in dollar terms in 2025, describing it as a major step towards the country’s ambition of building a $1tn economy by 2030.

He also pledged that the government would begin publishing quarterly financial reports to enhance accountability and public trust.

Also speaking, the Director-General of the Debt Management Office, Patience Oniha, assured investors of Nigeria’s commitment to prudent borrowing and sustainable debt management.

The Federal Government has continued to defend its reform agenda despite growing public discontent, insisting that the long-term gains will outweigh the current economic pains.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria has announced a planned power outage in parts of Ibadan, Oyo State, following scheduled maintenance at the Ayede Transmission Substation.

The company disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, noting that a 100MVA 132/33kV transformer would be temporarily shut down for routine preventive maintenance.

According to the statement, the exercise is scheduled to take place between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

TCN explained that the maintenance was part of ongoing efforts to ensure efficient and reliable operation of its transmission facilities nationwide.

“The scheduled maintenance will allow our engineers to carry out essential checks and servicing of the transformer to maintain optimal performance,” the statement read.

The company further stated that the temporary shutdown would affect electricity supply in some areas under the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company.

It listed the affected areas as Express, Industrial and Oluyole, adding that residents in the locations would experience interruption in power supply during the period.

TCN, however, assured that normal electricity supply would be restored immediately after the maintenance exercise is concluded.

The global oil market has recorded losses exceeding $50bn following massive supply disruptions triggered by the ongoing Iran war, which has now stretched to nearly 50 days.

Data from energy analytics firm Kpler showed that more than 500 million barrels of crude oil and condensate have been wiped off the global market since the crisis began in late February, making it the largest energy supply disruption in modern history.

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, on Friday said the Strait of Hormuz had been reopened after a ceasefire agreement reached in Lebanon.

However, tensions escalated again on Saturday as Tehran warned it could shut the strategic waterway if the United States sustains its blockade of Iranian ports.

Also, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism that a deal to end the conflict could be reached “soon,” although he did not provide a definite timeline.

Analysts warned that the scale of disruption could have prolonged effects on global energy stability, with shocks expected to linger for months or even years.

Providing context, Principal Analyst at Wood Mackenzie, Iain Mowat, said the 500 million barrels lost is equivalent to grounding global aviation demand for 10 weeks, halting all road transport worldwide for 11 days, or shutting down the entire global oil supply for five days.

Further estimates showed that the lost volume is nearly equal to one month of oil demand in the United States or more than a month’s supply for Europe. It also represents about six years of fuel consumption by the U.S. military and could power global shipping activities for approximately four months.

The crisis has significantly affected oil-producing nations in the Gulf, with output losses reaching about eight million barrels per day in March—roughly equivalent to the combined production of two of the world’s largest oil companies.

Jet fuel exports from major producers, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, dropped sharply from 19.6 million barrels in February to just 4.1 million barrels recorded across March and April combined. Analysts said the shortfall could have powered about 20,000 round-trip international flights.

With crude prices averaging around $100 per barrel since the onset of the conflict, the lost volumes translate to an estimated $50bn in revenue. Experts noted that this figure is equivalent to about one per cent of Germany’s annual Gross Domestic Product, or roughly the size of the economies of smaller European countries.

Meanwhile, global onshore crude inventories have declined by about 45 million barrels in April alone, while total production outages have risen to approximately 12 million barrels per day since late March.

Industry experts cautioned that unless a lasting resolution is reached, the disruption could intensify volatility in global oil markets, worsen inflationary pressures, and further strain fragile economies worldwide.