Subsidy Removal: HURIWA Demands Account Of N15.8trn Savings

Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has challenged the federal government’s position that the removal of petrol subsidy is irreversible.

It demanded full transparency on the reported N15.8 trillion generated from the policy between June 2023 and December 2025.

HURIWA, in a statement signed yesterday by its national coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, described the subsidy removal as “illegitimate, unconstitutional and fundamentally anti-poor.” He argued that Nigerians were not subjected to any national debate or broad-based consultation before the policy was introduced.

The group said the declaration by President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023, that “subsidy is gone” was made on the day he assumed office without a prior national consensus on the policy.

HURIWA, therefore, rejected the Presidency’s position that there is “no going back” on subsidy removal, insisting that its consequences remain a legitimate subject of public debate.

It said the government could not continue to allow increases in the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas while Nigerians grapple with inflation, unemployment, declining purchasing power and worsening poverty.

The rights group specifically questioned the benefits ordinary Nigerians had derived from the savings reportedly generated by subsidy removal.

It noted the claim by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, that subsidy removal generated N15.8 trillion for the federation between June 2023 and December 2025, comprising N5.4 trillion for the Federal Government and N10.4 trillion shared among states and local governments.

“HURIWA asks what measurable improvements in the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians can be directly linked to these enormous savings,” the statement said.

The group also rejected the argument that restoring subsidy would create legal and fiscal complications and discourage investment in domestic refining, as conveyed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

It said the government’s concerns about the old subsidy regime should not override the welfare of citizens facing rising energy costs.

HURIWA also said former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal for a controlled intervention in the oil and gas sector deserved public scrutiny, rather than outright dismissal.

The association, however, acknowledged the corruption, smuggling, rent-seeking and fiscal leakages associated with the former subsidy regime, saying Nigeria must avoid returning to those practices.

It argued that removing subsidy without putting in place an effective alternative social protection mechanism had transferred the burden of adjustment largely to ordinary Nigerians.

The group consequently demanded that the Federal Government publish verifiable evidence showing how funds saved from subsidy removal had been deployed to transportation, healthcare, education, infrastructure, wages, social protection and other essential services.

HURIWA warned that continued increases in petrol, diesel and gas prices would deepen inflation, raise transportation and food costs, weaken local businesses and further erode the purchasing power of workers, pensioners and low-income households.

It called on the government to review its energy pricing policy and introduce measures capable of reducing energy costs without creating another avenue for corruption.

The association further urged the government to respect Nigerians’ constitutional rights to peaceful assembly, expression and protest, saying citizens should be free to oppose policies they consider harmful to their welfare.

“Economic reforms cannot be sustainable when the people are excluded from meaningful consultation and are left to bear the heaviest burden of those reforms,” HURIWA said.