Buhari Feared Mass Hardship Without Fuel Subsidy – Nwajiuba

Former Minister of State for Education Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba claims that former President Muhammadu Buhari kept the petrol subsidy in place to keep Nigerians alive.

During an interview with Arise TV on Monday, Nwajiuba stated that the former president made major contributions to Nigeria’s progress, and that statistics from his eight-year rule validates his efforts.

“All of the numbers from every known publication over the past eight years are clear. This is an economy that has recovered from recession twice. This is an economy that has been affected by COVID. “This is an economy in which he performed exceedingly well,” the former minister stated.

“We held the dollar at the exchange rate when he left, which was less than N500.” He held the subsidies so that Nigerians would not perish.

“In the previous two years alone, the number of deaths has outpaced the number of votes cast. I mean, just from tankers colliding and people getting burned, people going to buy Christmas presents, people going to get food, and they die as a result.

“He knew, and he granted an interview to BBC why he wanted to defend Nigerians ahead of others.”

Nwajiuba also cited data from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), which stated that 183 companies had closed in the last two years, a situation he claims contrasts with the relative stability throughout Buhari’s tenure.

The former minister stated that Buhari’s administration made development in critical sectors such as mining, non-oil exports, and oil production.

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“He did this work, and the numbers are there to show,” remarked the gentleman.

“Everything we did in mining, the improvements in non-oil exports, improvements in oil exports, the idea behind condensates, everything that we did in government, are all articulated.”

Nwajiuba, on the other hand, admitted that, despite the fact that Buhari was simply human and lacked comprehensive expertise, his government was quite successful.

Buhari died on July 13, 2025, in a clinic in London, United Kingdom, at the age of 82.

Buhari originally served as military head of state from 1983 to 1985, then as elected president in 2015, and was reelected in 2019.