President Bola Tinubu has rejected calls for the restoration of petrol subsidy, comparing the move to asking Moses to return to Egypt, and warning that Nigeria could go bankrupt if the government resumes the payments.

Tinubu spoke on Monday while addressing members of the City Boy Movement, insisting that the country could no longer afford the cost of sustaining the subsidy.

The President said some political opponents had promised to restore the subsidy but maintained that Nigeria must not return to its previous economic path.

Drawing from biblical and Quranic accounts of Moses, also known as Musa, leading the Israelites out of Egypt, Tinubu used the story to defend his decision to remove the subsidy.

The President announced the removal of petrol subsidy during his inauguration on May 29, 2023. The decision led to a sharp increase in petrol prices, transportation costs and the prices of goods and services.

The policy has remained a subject of national debate as Nigerians continue to face rising living costs, with opposition figures and other political actors questioning the impact of the government’s economic reforms.

In a related development, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, recently warned that restoring petrol subsidy could push the pump price to at least two thousand naira per litre and weaken the naira to about three thousand naira per dollar within months.

He argued that subsidy payments would place additional pressure on government revenue and the economy.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has defended a recent intervention by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to cushion the impact of rising petrol prices, insisting that the measure does not amount to a reversal of the subsidy-removal policy.