By Our Reporter
The Federal Government has disclosed a detailed breakdown of the financial gains from the removal of petrol subsidy and other economic reforms, revealing that the reforms generated N15.8 trillion in additional resources for the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
The disclosure was made by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, as part of the Federal Government’s assessment of the impact of its economic reforms.
According to the government’s reform scorecard, the N15.8 trillion was shared among the three tiers of government through the Federation Account.
The Federal Government received N5.43 trillion, representing 34 per cent; state governments received N6.53 trillion, representing 41 per cent; while local governments received N3.88 trillion, representing 24 per cent.
The government explained that the funds should not be viewed as money kept in a separate account exclusively for subsidy savings, but as additional revenue accruing to the Federation following the reforms.
For the Federal Government alone, the additional resources reportedly amounted to N20.4 trillion.
This comprised its N5.43 trillion share of the additional Federation resources, N3.12 trillion in additional independent revenue, and N11.85 trillion in additional borrowing.
However, the government disclosed that its incremental expenditure during the period stood at N30.64 trillion, exceeding the additional resources by about N10.24 trillion.
A significant portion of the expenditure went into personnel costs, debt servicing and infrastructure.
The government said N9.39 trillion was spent on workers’ wages and personnel-related costs, while N9.37 trillion went into debt servicing.
Another N6.5 trillion was deployed to infrastructure development, reflecting the administration’s increased spending on roads, transport, energy and other capital projects.
The disclosure comes amid persistent public debate over the utilisation of the financial gains from the removal of fuel subsidy.
The subsidy removal, announced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in May 2023, ended the long-standing government intervention in the price of petrol and triggered a sharp increase in fuel prices.
While the Federal Government has maintained that the policy was necessary to prevent further pressure on public finances and redirect resources towards development, Nigerians and organised labour have repeatedly demanded greater transparency over the deployment of the resulting savings.
The latest breakdown is therefore expected to provide further insight into how the government has utilised the additional resources generated since the subsidy reform.
The Federal Government has also continued to defend the reforms, arguing that despite the immediate hardship associated with subsidy removal and other economic adjustments, they have improved government revenue and created greater fiscal space for public spending.