The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria has described the Federal Government’s removal of petrol subsidy as illegitimate, unconstitutional and anti-poor, demanding urgent measures to protect Nigerians from rising energy costs.
HURIWA, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, on Monday, said President Bola Tinubu announced the subsidy removal on May 29, 2023, without a national debate, broad-based consultation or referendum.
The association rejected the Presidency’s position that there would be no return to the subsidy regime.
It argued that the government could not use the declaration to shut down legitimate debate over the economic consequences of the policy.
“The removal of petrol subsidy remains illegitimate, unconstitutional and fundamentally anti-poor,” HURIWA said.
The group said the continued increases in petrol, diesel and cooking gas prices were worsening the cost-of-living crisis amid inflation, unemployment, declining purchasing power and rising poverty.
HURIWA warned that escalating energy costs were pushing millions of Nigerians deeper into economic hardship.
It also challenged the argument that subsidy removal had generated trillions of naira for the federation, saying the savings would mean little if ordinary Nigerians could not feel their impact.
The association cited the claim by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, that subsidy removal generated N15.8tn for the federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
According to the figure, N5.4tn accrued to the Federal Government, while N10.4tn was shared among states and local governments.
HURIWA asked what measurable improvements in the lives of ordinary Nigerians could be directly linked to the huge savings.
“What measurable improvements in the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians can be directly linked to these enormous savings?” the group asked.
The association also faulted the argument that restoring subsidy would create legal and fiscal complications and discourage investment in domestic refining.
It said such concerns must not override the welfare of citizens.
HURIWA noted former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal for controlled intervention in the oil and gas sector rather than a return to what he described as the opaque subsidy regime of the past.
The group said the proposal deserved serious public scrutiny, particularly because millions of Nigerians were already bearing the consequences of high energy prices.
It, however, acknowledged the need to prevent corruption, smuggling, rent-seeking and fiscal leakages associated with the former subsidy regime.
But HURIWA said removing subsidy without an effective alternative social protection mechanism amounted to transferring the burden of economic adjustment almost entirely to Nigerians.
The association demanded full transparency in the utilisation of funds saved from subsidy removal.
It urged the Federal Government to publish verifiable evidence showing how the savings had been deployed to improve transportation, healthcare, education, infrastructure, wages and social protection.
HURIWA said Nigerians should not be compelled to accept permanent economic hardship simply because the government described subsidy removal as a reform.
The association further warned that rising petrol, diesel and gas prices would deepen inflation, weaken local businesses, increase transportation and food costs, and erode the purchasing power of workers, pensioners and low-income households.
It called on the Federal Government to urgently review its energy pricing policy and introduce measures capable of reducing energy costs without creating another avenue for corruption.
“The welfare of Nigerians must remain the primary consideration in every economic reform,” HURIWA said.
The group also urged the government to respect Nigerians’ constitutional rights to peaceful assembly, expression and protest whenever citizens chose to oppose policies they considered harmful to their welfare.
HURIWA maintained that economic reforms could not be sustainable when citizens were excluded from meaningful consultation and left to bear the heaviest burden of such reforms.
