Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has defended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy, arguing that previous administrations failed to take the same step despite recognising problems with the policy.

Voice of Naija reported that Wike spoke on Wednesday at a stakeholders’ forum in Abuja, where he described the abolition of the subsidy as a decision successive presidents had been unwilling to make.

“There is no president that came that said fuel subsidy was not a scam. Every president said it was a scam. But nobody had that courage to say it will go,” Wike said.

The minister acknowledged the pressure Nigerians face from rising prices but expressed hope that the situation would improve as the government’s economic reforms stabilise.

“We agree that cost of things are a bit high. By time reform is stabilised, cost of living will come down. That is sacrifice of removing fuel subsidy,” he said.

Wike also claimed that state governments no longer needed to obtain bank loans and that Nigerian universities had recorded three years without strikes under Tinubu’s administration.

On the 2027 presidential election, the minister expressed confidence in Tinubu’s re-election prospects, citing the presence of members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) under the same political arrangement.