By Ambrose Amos
The federal government of Nigeria, through the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has said fuel subsidy removal and the foreign exchange market reforms generated ₦15.8 trillion in resources for the federation.
Oyedele said this gain was recorded between June 2023 and December 2025.
The minister stated this on Wednesday while unveiling the government’s “Nigerians’ Reform Scorecard”.
He noted that the scorecard was designed to provide an assessment of the costs, benefits and impact of the economic reforms an implemented by the administration.
He said the ₦15.8 trillion did not appear as a direct credit to the Federation Account labelled “subsidy savings”. Rather, the gains were reflected through higher revenue collections arising from the reforms.
According to him, the removal of the subsidy regime and the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market increased the naira value of dollar-denominated customs duties and other government revenues.
He said said the previous exchange-rate regime had become a source of arbitrage and corruption rather than providing economic stability.
Oyedele pointed out that the government had effectively been subsidising foreign exchange, with the benefit not necessarily reaching ordinary Nigerians or manufacturers.
“We were subsidising the exchange rates, and that subsidy was not going to the ordinary person or manufacturers; it was going to rent seekers,” the minister said.
He said the Federal Government’s share of the ₦15.8 trillion amounted to ₦5.4 trillion, while ₦10.4 trillion accrued to states and local governments through the federation allocation system.
The minister also disclosed that the Federal Government generated an additional ₦3.1 trillion in independent revenue during the period, principally through increased remittances from government-owned entities.
He added that the government raised ₦11.9 trillion through incremental borrowing between June 2023 and December 2025.
Oyedele, however, argued that the borrowing would have been significantly higher without the fiscal space created by the reforms.
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