Popular actor turned politician, Kenneth Okonkwo, on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, reiterated his long-held scepticism regarding the economic reforms initiated by the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaking on Channels Television, Okonkwo insisted that he had warned of the unsustainability of the petrol price increase immediately following President Tinubu’s removal of the fuel subsidy.
He contended that the focus should have been on ensuring a regular supply and breaking existing monopolies within the sector.
According to his analysis, ensuring competition by supporting domestic refining capacity—hypothetically suggesting the establishment of two Dangote-like facilities supplied with crude oil—would naturally cause the price of fuel to drop significantly to around N200 or N300 per litre.
The politician blamed the existing high cost and systemic strain on pervasive corruption, declaring that the country’s entire operational system is effectively run on graft.
He observed that the economic pressure resulting from the price hikes has directly impacted the productivity of civil servants, many of whom have been forced to reduce their attendance at work to manage transportation costs.
Okonkwo’s critique painted a picture of a transportation network currently unsupported by a sustainable economic structure.
Okonkwo said, “When Tinubu removed subsidy, before 24 hours I said it will be unsustainable, what you should do is to ensure regular supply and ensure there is no monopoly. The price that will result from the removal of subsidy will be unsustainable; nobody is sustaining the transportation system, Nigeria is being run on corruption.”
He added, “You see the civil servants, they have reduced their number of going to work officially so that they can be able to bear it. If you have two Dangote’s and you supply them crude oil, the fuel will come down to N200 or N300.”
His commentary is a direct pushback against the administration’s defence of the fuel subsidy removal, a policy first announced by President Tinubu in May 2023.
The government has consistently justified the move as a critical measure to curb corruption and release substantial funds.
The current administration frequently emphasize that the subsidy removal has resulted in a massive boost to the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursements, significantly increasing the resources available to state and local governments.
This financial benefit, the President argues, is intended to enable sub-national tiers of government to implement vital infrastructure projects and social interventions to mitigate the hardship experienced by Nigerians.Continue, Full, Reading>>>>
Find Verified News At Your fingertips Click The Link Above .
Leave a Reply