“After the subsidy removal, poverty increased from a baseline of about 50 per cent to 63 per cent,” Shuaibu said. Data from the study showed that poverty among low-income households rose sharply from about 50 per cent before subsidy removal to roughly 63 per cent afterwards, while the national poverty gap widened significantly. “Across the board, household consumption declined following both the subsidy removal and electricity tariff adjustments. Others reported switching to alternative energy sources to cope with rising electricity tariffs and fuel costs. “For the private sector, what we want to see is that the savings from the fuel subsidy removal are actually being used to fund infrastructure,” she said.

Source: Punch March 13, 2026 14:18 UTC