Sanwo-Olu Defends Fuel Subsidy Removal, Says Reform Is ‘Healing’ Economy

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has defended the removal of fuel subsidy, arguing that the policy was necessary to stop the draining of money intended for development.

He acknowledged the pain of the reform but cited economic growth figures as evidence that it is working.

A Defence of Controversial Policy

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has defended the removal of fuel subsidy, arguing that the controversial measure was necessary to stop the draining of money intended for development.

Speaking at the Freedom Online 7th Yearly Lecture on Thursday in Lagos, Sanwo-Olu challenged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who recently spoke in favour of subsidy, saying it was not removed because anybody enjoyed removing it but because it had become “a hole in the national purse” through which money for roads, schools and hospitals was draining away.

Acknowledging the Pain

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Sanwo-Olu acknowledged the impact of the removal of subsidy on ordinary Nigerians.

“I will not stand here and tell you that it has been painless. It has not. Lagosians have felt it at the pump, at the market, and in the price of a bag of rice, and any governor who tells you otherwise has not been listening to his own people,” he said.”

The measure of a reform is not whether it hurts. It is whether it heals. And the evidence that this one is healing is now arriving, quarter by quarter,” Sanwo-Olu said.

Citing Economic Data

He cited recent economic data as evidence that the reform was beginning to yield positive results.

The National Bureau of Statistics, he noted, had just published growth figures showing the economy expanded by 4.43 percent in the second quarter of 2026, up from 3.89 percent in the first quarter.

“Agriculture, the sector on which most of our people depend, grew by 4.39 per cent, up from 2.82 per cent a year earlier. Services grew by 4.6 per cent,” he said.

A Lesson for Nigerian Youths

Sanwo-Olu’s defence of subsidy removal is a reminder that reform is painful but necessary. But for the millions of Nigerians who cannot afford three meals a day, the pain is not abstract, it is real.

The same politicians who defend reform while living in comfort will never allow their own children to experience the hardship of a fuel price hike.

Their children are protected.Demand that the gains of reform reach you.

And hold your leaders accountable, not just for the numbers, but for the lives behind them.