The Federal Government has revealed that the removal of fuel subsidy and reforms in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market generated ₦15.8 trillion for the federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this on Wednesday during the unveiling of the government’s Nigerians’ Reform Scorecard, a report assessing the costs, benefits and impact of the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms.
Oyedele explained that the ₦15.8 trillion was not paid into the Federation Account as a separate “subsidy savings” fund. Instead, it came through increased government revenue driven by the reforms.
According to him, ending the fuel subsidy and liberalising the foreign exchange market boosted the naira value of dollar-denominated customs duties and other public revenues.
He said the previous exchange rate system encouraged arbitrage and corruption rather than supporting economic stability.
“We were subsidising the exchange rates, and that subsidy was not going to the ordinary person or manufacturers; it was going to rent seekers,” Oyedele stated.
The minister disclosed that of the ₦15.8 trillion, the Federal Government received ₦5.4 trillion, while ₦10.4 trillion was distributed to states and local governments through the federation allocation system.
He also announced that the Federal Government generated an additional ₦3.1 trillion in independent revenue, largely from improved remittances by government-owned enterprises.
Oyedele further revealed that the government borrowed ₦11.9 trillion during the same period but maintained that the reforms prevented even higher borrowing.
According to him, the fiscal space created by the subsidy removal and FX reforms helped reduce the need for more economically destabilising debt.
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