A former governor of Nigeria's Central Bank and Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, has said that eliminating the petrol subsidy was crucial in preventing Nigeria from bankruptcy.

Speaking during the second Kano International Poetry Festival on Saturday, Sanusi criticised the subsidy program as inefficient and unsustainable, highlighting how it depletes government funds due to volatile oil prices, exchange rate challenges, transportation costs, and refining expenses.

“Subsidy meant if petrol was N100, Nigerians paid N70 and government covered N30,” he explained. “But government went further, fixing petrol at N65 per litre regardless of global oil prices. Who paid the difference? Government. And that was always going to bankrupt Nigeria.”

He criticised previous administrations for prioritising billions of naira in subsidies that primarily benefited foreign refineries, all the while neglecting the country's own local refineries and costing Nigerian jobs. He argued that these funds should have been channelled into boosting domestic production rather than fleeting consumption.

Recalling his time as CBN governor in 2012, the emir likened the current policy to “a man running towards a ditch," warning of impending disaster.

He pointed out that Nigeria eventually resorted to borrowing to sustain subsidies and pay off debts, pushing the country's economic situation into an unsustainable path.

Sanusi emphasised that removing subsidies is more than just an economic reform; it’s an opportunity to build a more resilient, self-sufficient nation.

ASA