Abuja, Nigeria – Public affairs commentator Mahdi Shehu has accused the Federal Government of using the removal of fuel subsidy to shield corruption rather than eradicate it.
In a post shared on X on Wednesday, Shehu described the subsidy removal as “the biggest scam, theft, and corruption in Nigeria’s history,” contrasting the ₦5.7 trillion spent on fuel subsidy in 2021 and 2022 with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) claim of ₦17.5 trillion spent in 2025 to secure oil pipelines.
“Subsidy removal did not curb corruption; it nurtured and protected it,” Shehu wrote, arguing that despite the policy, Nigeria continues to borrow heavily. “Even with the so-called subsidy removal, we still keep borrowing to stop borrowing.”
Shehu further alleged that a powerful group is benefiting at the expense of ordinary Nigerians. “From all intents and purposes, we have a clique, cartel, and cabal whose main aim is to pauperize 250 million people and eventually destroy Nigeria,” he claimed.
He condemned what he described as a “shameful pathology of primitive thieves” driving the country’s corruption.
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