Nigeria fuel subsidy: Tinubu’s plan to scrap measure sparks rush to stock up

already increasing prices, in some cases by more than 200%.

Some drivers of private buses, which many Nigerians rely on to get around, have also been unable to fill up their vehicles.

This has left people stranded at major bus stops in the capital, Abuja, and the country’s biggest city, Lagos.

Despite its oil wealth, Nigeria is unable to refine enough crude to meet local demands, so it imports petroleum products, which are then sold at a government-set price.

But the subsidy is a huge drain on public finances. Last year, it gulped 4.3trn naira ($9.3bn; £7.5bn) and for the first half of this year, 3.36trn naira was budgeted for it.

On Monday, Mr Tinubu said It could no longer be justified and that the funds would instead be spent on public infrastructure and to improve the lives of people.

But the subsidy has long been seen by many Nigerians as one of the few perks they receive from the state.

The last attempt to remove it in 2012 led to nationwide protests and then President Goodluck Jonathan had to perform a policy U-turn.

So far, a powerful association of those who sell petroleum products has come out to say it does not support President Tinubu’s plan. It said the new government should begin a dialogue before taking the decision.

The spokesman of the

Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Ukadike Chinedu, is quoted by Nigeria’s Punch newspaper as saying that the move will cause “galloping inflation and inflict more hardship on the masses”.