Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, warned on Wednesday that the savings generated from Nigeria’s removal of fuel subsidies since 2023 are far from sufficient to meet the country’s vast development needs.
Speaking at a one-day training session on the Nigeria Tax Act (2025) organized for the State House Press Corps in Abuja, Oyedele stressed the urgent need for comprehensive tax reforms to realign Nigeria’s economy toward sustainable growth.
Highlighting the challenge, Oyedele revealed that Nigeria’s total annual budget encompassing the federal government, 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and all 774 local governments is under $50 billion. He described this as grossly inadequate for a country with over 200 million citizens.
“Even if corruption and waste were completely eliminated, the resources available to us would still fall short of transforming Nigeria,” Oyedele said. “Savings from subsidy removal alone cannot provide the level of infrastructure and public services this nation requires. Our fiscal space is simply too constrained.”
He also pointed to the unsustainable nature of the previous subsidy system, which pushed Nigeria’s economy to the brink of collapse. According to Oyedele, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) not only withheld remittances to the government but also used future crude oil production as collateral to finance petrol imports, compounding fiscal pressures.
Oyedele’s remarks underline the pressing need for structural reforms that go beyond subsidy removal, emphasizing tax system overhaul as a vital step toward unlocking Nigeria’s development potential.
