The Allied People’s Movement has asked President Bola Tinubu’s administration to publicly account for the trillions of naira realised from the removal of fuel subsidy, insisting that Nigerians deserve a transparent breakdown of how the funds have been spent since May 2023.
The opposition party said the Federal Government should immediately publish a comprehensive and independently verifiable report detailing the total amount saved from the subsidy removal, projects funded with the proceeds, their locations, beneficiaries, and the measurable impact of the spending.
The demand was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf.
President Tinubu had, during his inauguration on May 29, 2023, announced the end of the petrol subsidy regime with the declaration, “Subsidy is gone.”
The policy triggered a sharp increase in petrol prices, with pump prices rising from below N200 per litre to over N1,500 per litre, leading to soaring transportation costs and inflation in the prices of goods and services.
While the Federal Government has consistently maintained that the savings from the subsidy removal are being invested in infrastructure and social intervention programmes, the APM argued that Nigerians had yet to receive concrete evidence of how the funds had been utilised.
According to the party, worsening economic hardship, rising poverty, high cost of living and deteriorating public infrastructure have raised serious concerns over the management of the subsidy savings.
The statement read in part, “For over three years, Nigerians have endured unprecedented hardship following President Tinubu’s declaration that ‘subsidy is gone.’ The resulting increase in fuel prices has pushed transport fares, food prices, school fees, medical bills, electricity costs and house rents beyond the reach of millions of citizens.
“Despite reports that over N20tn has accrued to the Federal Government from subsidy removal, there is no comprehensive public record showing how much has been realised, how the funds have been spent and whether the expenditures have translated into meaningful improvements in the lives of Nigerians.”
The party also alleged that the government’s repeated claims that the proceeds were being invested in critical sectors lacked verifiable figures and identifiable projects.
It maintained that transparency and accountability were essential to sustaining public confidence in economic reforms.
“The vague claims by the APC administration that the proceeds are being invested in critical sectors, without real figures or specific projects, are unacceptable and cannot substitute for transparency and accountability,” the statement added.
The APM further argued that economic reforms should be assessed by their impact on citizens’ welfare rather than official pronouncements.
It, therefore, urged the Tinubu administration to release a detailed public report showing the total subsidy savings since May 2023, expenditures from the funds, beneficiaries of intervention programmes and measurable outcomes achieved.
The party stressed that its demand was not extraordinary but consistent with the principles of accountability expected in a democratic society.
The Federal Government has repeatedly defended the subsidy removal policy, saying the savings are being channelled into infrastructure development, support for sub-national governments and targeted interventions aimed at cushioning the effects of the economic reforms.
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