The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has urged Nigerians, particularly young people, to reject calls by some politicians for the reinstatement of the fuel subsidy regime.
The National President of NANS, Babatunde Akinteye, made the call on Tuesday in Akure, Ondo State, during a youth summit themed “Unlocking Ondo State Students’ Potentials for Economic Growth.”
Akinteye said the focus should be on demanding transparency and accountability in the management of funds saved from fuel subsidy removal rather than returning to a policy he described as financially unsustainable.
According to him, Nigeria operated the fuel subsidy regime for about four decades, during which the country spent huge sums on subsidy payments while citizens continued to experience persistent fuel scarcity.
He urged Nigerians to ensure that savings from the removal of the subsidy are channelled into projects and programmes that directly improve the lives of citizens.
Akinteye argued that reinstating the subsidy would place a significant financial burden on the country, noting that previous administrations often relied on borrowing to finance subsidy payments and other recurrent expenditures.
He said political leaders seeking to govern the country should instead present practical plans for investing subsidy savings in sectors that would benefit Nigerians, including education, infrastructure and other social interventions.
The NANS president cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund as one of the intervention programmes supporting students since the removal of the fuel subsidy.
Akinteye also dismissed proposals by some political figures to restore the subsidy as political rhetoric, maintaining that attention should remain on prudent management of the savings generated from the policy.
The development comes amid a growing political debate over fuel subsidy restoration, with the All Progressives Congress criticising former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s reported proposal to return the subsidy regime.
The APC warned that reinstating the subsidy could reverse economic reforms and negatively affect workers’ wages, education funding, infrastructure development and the fiscal stability of states.
