According to a news report from Informant247, Lanre Issa-Onilu, the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), has spoken out against the reinstatement of fuel subsidy, arguing that it would exacerbate poverty levels.

It is worth noting that the return of subsidy was one of the demands made by the #EndBadGovernance protesters.

In a recent nationwide broadcast, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu firmly ruled out the possibility of reinstating the subsidy, emphasizing that its removal, while painful, was essential for economic growth.

The NOA DG, during an appearance on Channels Television's breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, on Wednesday, advised Nigerians to devise survival strategies in the face of the economic repercussions of the petrol subsidy removal.

“Anybody who is making a demand that subsidy removal should be brought back is making an emotional demand, not an economic demand, because you have to also prove that if it is brought back, it will solve the issue of poverty; it will not, it will aggravate it.”

“So, what we should be doing is: How do we survive in spite of the removal?’ We need to promote all the efforts of this government to ensure that we survive without that subsidy.”

He also admitted the trust deficit between leaders and followers in the country due to repeated cases of broken promises over the years.

“It is difficult to talk to a people who have for several years been let down. Nigerians feel let down. The first question they ask you is: ‘Is this another promise that will not be kept?’ So, we must prove to Nigerians that this government is keeping to its promises,” he said.