Subsidy Removal Stopped Nigeria from Going Bankrupt – Sanusi

The Emir of Kano and former CBN governor, Muhammad Sanusi II, has said that Nigeria was saved from imminent bankruptcy by ending the petrol subsidy.

Speaking at the Kano International Poetry Festival, Sanusi described the subsidy regime as wasteful and unsustainable, stressing that it consistently drained public finances through oil price fluctuations, exchange rate pressures, transport costs, and refining expenses.

He explained:

“Subsidy meant if petrol was N100, Nigerians paid N70 and government covered N30. 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.”

Sanusi faulted past administrations for neglecting local refineries, instead spending billions on subsidies that enriched foreign refiners while denying Nigerians jobs. According to him, those funds should have been channeled into production rather than consumption.