OPEN LETTER: URGENT CALL FOR DECISIVE ACTION TO ALLEVIATE THE ECONOMIC HARDSHIP OF ORDINARY NIGERIANS
By
Barr. Kayode Omolayo, PhD, MCIArb(UK)
Principal Partner, Fairway Attorneys at Law
08030797998 | Skomolayo@gmail.com
Abuja, Nigeria
April 2026
His Excellency,
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
Aso Rock Villa, Abuja
Your Excellency,
I write to you as a concerned Nigerian citizen, speaking on behalf of millions of ordinary people who are currently hungry and angry. The hardship across the land is palpable, and many families struggle daily to put food on the table or meet basic needs. Time is of the essence — Your Excellency, the government must act fast and decisively to alleviate the suffering before frustration boils over into greater unrest.
I am overwhelmed by the number of people who seek my assistance daily for one form of help or another. This constant stream of requests puts me in direct touch with the raw poverty ravaging the land. From widows unable to feed their children, to young graduates who cannot afford basic transportation to job interviews, to market women whose daily earnings can no longer cover rent or school fees — the stories are heartbreaking and far too many. These are not abstract statistics; they are real people whose lives have been upended by the current economic realities.
The removal of the fuel subsidy in May 2023, while aimed at correcting long-standing fiscal distortions, has brought untold hardship to the populace. Prices of food, commodities, and services have skyrocketed dramatically — in many cases by several hundred percent — while the national minimum wage only rose from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000.
For context, before the subsidy removal:
– Petrol sold for around ₦185–245 per litre.
– A 50kg bag of rice was often ₦30,000–35,000.
– Transportation costs were far lower.
Today, despite periodic adjustments by the Dangote Refinery (with ex-gantry prices recently reversed to around ₦1,200 per litre), pump prices at filling stations remain painfully high at about ₦1,290–1,400 per litre nationwide. A 50kg bag of rice has reached ₦65,000–77,000 or more in many markets, and other essentials have followed suit. Overall food inflation has remained painfully high, eroding purchasing power and deepening poverty for the masses.
This windfall has primarily enriched state governors through massively increased FAAC allocations. Yet the people bear the brunt of poverty. While it is right and necessary for citizens to hold governors accountable for prudent use of these resources — demanding roads, healthcare, education, and local investments — governors are not responsible for the core drivers of these price increases. Fiscal, monetary, exchange rate, and broad economic policy decisions rest with the Federal Government. The hardship stems from national-level choices, not state-level ones alone.
Compounding this, the recent Israel-US-Iran conflict and associated global energy shocks have driven up oil prices and disrupted supply chains. Many other countries moved swiftly to protect their citizens, while in Nigeria the effects — higher fuel and transport costs feeding into food prices — have fallen squarely on ordinary citizens with little visible cushion or protection.
Examples of countries that protected their citizens include:
– Vietnam scrapped some fuel taxes and tapped its fuel price stabilisation fund, leading to an immediate curb in price increases, while encouraging work-from-home policies.
– China limited fuel price hikes, capped domestic refined oil prices, and restricted some refined fuel exports to prioritise domestic supply.
– Indonesia increased fuel subsidies significantly (budgeting billions of dollars), maintained subsidised fuel prices, and introduced measures like work-from-home policies and fuel sales limits to ease pressure.
– Malaysia raised spending on petrol subsidies to maintain fixed prices for widely used transport fuels and provided cash assistance to diesel operators.
– India invoked emergency powers to boost LPG (cooking gas) production, cut sales to industry to protect household supply, and took steps to prevent shortages of essential cooking fuel.
– South Korea planned to cap domestic fuel prices and expanded market-stabilisation programmes.
– Australia, Italy, Brazil, and several European countries (including Germany, Poland, and the UK) cut fuel taxes/excise duties, introduced targeted subsidies for vulnerable groups, or capped prices to shield consumers.
– Around 30 nations (from Norway to Zambia) cut fuel taxes as a common response, while others provided direct support or price stabilisation funds.
These governments recognised the external shock and acted with targeted relief so that the full burden did not fall on ordinary citizens.
THE IMPACT OF DANGOTE REFINERY
The commissioning and operation of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery (Africa’s largest, with 650,000 barrels per day capacity) was expected to be a major game-changer — ending chronic fuel imports, reducing dependence on foreign refined products, creating jobs, and helping moderate domestic prices after subsidy removal. In practice, its impact has been mixed, providing improved supply stability and occasional price buffers but failing to deliver sustained relief to ordinary Nigerians amid global volatility and the need to import crude.
Positive aspects:
– The refinery has significantly boosted domestic fuel supply, often operating at high utilisation rates. It has supplied a substantial share of Nigeria’s petrol needs, reduced reliance on imports, helped minimise widespread fuel scarcity, and enabled occasional exports to other African countries.
– It has created thousands of jobs, stimulated related industries, produced higher-quality Euro V standard fuels, and acted as a partial stabiliser. Recent reversals (e.g., ex-gantry price to ₦1,200 per litre) have offered some cushion when global crude prices dip.
Challenges and limitations:
– Pump prices remain high and volatile (₦1,290–1,400+ per litre), with frequent adjustments driven by international crude benchmarks, freight costs, and dollar-denominated crude imports. Despite local refining capacity, Nigerians continue to feel the full force of global shocks.
I do not support the reintroduction of the old fuel subsidy regime, given its history of massive corruption, inefficiency, and diversion. However, the government can and should take targeted, transparent actions to ease the burden, including fully leveraging the Dangote Refinery.
PROPOSED SOLUTIONS
1. Reduce taxes, tariffs, and levies on essential food items, raw materials, and commodities. I applaud the recent moves in the aviation sector and the removal of tariffs on some imported goods — these are positive steps. Extend similar relief aggressively to the Dangote Refinery and other critical sectors of the economy (agriculture inputs, transportation spares, manufacturing). Lowering multiple taxes and charges at the production and import levels will help pass genuine savings downstream to consumers.
2. Enforce price reductions through task forces: Government gestures (such as manufacturer price cuts) have often been misused by middlemen and dubious business people to maximize gains rather than benefit consumers. A clear example is in October 2023 when BUA Cement reduced its ex-factory price to ₦3,500 per bag (from around ₦5,000–5,500), yet retailers continued selling at ₦9,000–12,000 or higher in many markets. Similar profiteering has affected fuel distribution. The government should deploy monitoring task forces with enforcement powers, including penalties for profiteering, to ensure that policy relief and refinery output actually reach the people at fair prices.
3. Accelerate and subsidize CNG conversion meaningfully, with nationwide grassroots support: The rollout of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a cheaper alternative to petrol is achieving limited results because conversion costs remain unaffordable for the masses. Any conversion price significantly above ₦200,000–300,000 is simply out of reach for ordinary commercial drivers and citizens. The government should enforce a truly affordable cap and provide direct subsidies to bring costs down.
To make this accessible nationwide, the government should ensure there is at least one CNG conversion centre in every Local Government Area. Additionally, free training should be provided for at least three young graduates per Local Government on how to perform CNG conversions, with free tools provided to them as a startup kit. This will create employment opportunities for our youth, build local technical capacity, reduce dependence on expensive urban centres, and accelerate the transition to cheaper, cleaner fuel for the masses.
4. Similar intervention for household solar power: It seems all hope is lost in the power sector, as citizens now live in total darkness as a result of the current total power blackouts and frequent national grid collapses. The government should do the same thing as with CNG for solar power provision for each household — establishing solar installation and maintenance centres in every Local Government, with free training for young graduates and provision of starter tools/kits. This would promote off-grid and mini-grid solutions, reduce reliance on expensive generators and diesel, create jobs, and bring immediate relief to homes and small businesses trapped in prolonged blackouts.
5. Sustained anti-corruption efforts: I applaud the government’s bold stance in fighting corruption headlong. This must continue transparently across all levels, as leakages undermine every reform, including full utilization of assets like the Dangote Refinery.
I also appreciate the government for heeding calls on the creation of state police, which is currently under active legislation. This forward-thinking step will enhance security and bring governance closer to the people when fully realised.
Your Excellency, Nigerians are resilient, but resilience has limits when daily survival becomes a struggle. The reforms, including the Dangote Refinery, have potential long-term benefits — fiscal savings, reduced smuggling, local refining, and economic diversification — but the short-term human cost demands urgent, visible relief. Combine relief measures with clear communication, strict enforcement against sabotage, resolution of policy frictions affecting the refinery, and investments in agriculture, security, and infrastructure to restore hope.
The people are watching and waiting. Act fast, Mr. President, with compassion and firmness, so that hunger and anger give way to renewed confidence in the “Renewed Hope” agenda.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.
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