The Bola Tinubu administration has attributed the extreme poverty assailing Nigerians to the fuel subsidy removal, noting that Nigerians were living in “fiscal illusion” pre-Tinubu era, which was unsustainable for the economy.

Mr Oyedele made this known at the Seventh Africa Emerging Markets Forum in Abuja, according to a series of videos posted on X by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga on Thursday.

“You cannot remove subsidy, and people become richer,” Mr Oyedele said. “Reform is a reset because we were living in fiscal illusions. So, we needed to stop deceiving ourselves so the country can move forward.”

Mr Oyedele acknowledged that scrapping the subsidy was bound to plunge people into poverty as a domino effect, but stressed that Nigeria’s rapid growth in income per capita in 2025 in dollars made it worthwhile, as it has placed the country among the fastest nations lifting citizens out of poverty.

He said the growth has placed the country among the fastest nations lifting citizens out of poverty and that Tinubu’s administration does not plan to reverse the subsidy removal to sustain the economy’s gains.

“That reset meant that income levels in real terms will fall and that will increase poverty. But the good news is that the numbers for 2025 in dollar terms, real per capita income growth was nearly 10 per cent. We intend to sustain that,” Mr Oyedele said.