Despite ongoing protests over the rising cost of living, the Nigerian government has ruled out reinstating fuel subsidy.

Minister of Finance Wale Edun made the clarification during a recent interview on AIT.

Edun said that fuel subsidy is not included in the 2024 national budget and cited economic progress as a reason to maintain current policies.

“There is no fuel subsidy in the budget. We have signs that we are moving in the right direction, and we must maintain this trend,” he stated.

This comes after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his nationwide address on Sunday, defended the subsidy removal as a necessary measure, despite its painful impact.

However, former President Olusegun Obasanjo in a recent interview with Financial Times countered the President’s remarks, saying that fuel subsidy have effectively returned due to inflation.

The fuel subsidy removal in June 2023 led to a price hike, from N238 to over N600 per litre. Protesters have demanded its reinstatement as a solution to the rising cost of living.