The Federal Government is proposing a law that would make it impossible for future administrations to reverse the biting economic reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu, including heavy taxation, tariffs and the removal of subsidies that have pushed millions of Nigerians into hardship. Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed the plan on Monday at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, where he presented a draft Nigeria Economic Policy Framework for public consultation.
Oyedele said the framework is designed to lock the reforms into institutions, law and policy so that they can be enduring, regardless of who comes to power after 2027. “We now need to lock it in, in institutions, in law, as well as policy framework, so that it can be enduring,” he said. The proposed framework would cover key areas including taxation, tariffs, subsidies, investment and industrial development. Oyedele also ruled out any return to petrol subsidies, which the Tinubu administration removed in 2023, triggering a cost-of-living crisis that has eroded household incomes and pushed food inflation to historic highs.
The minister clarified that the framework remains a consultation draft and has not been approved as government policy. Public consultations are expected to continue until November 27, 2026, after which the document will be submitted to the Federal Executive Council for approval and the National Economic Council for endorsement.
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The proposal has sparked immediate outrage, with critics describing it as an attempt to hold the country hostage and make the suffering of ordinary Nigerians permanent by legislation. In a post on X, publication @ParallelFacts wrote: “Tinubu wants a law so the next government can’t reverse the same taxes, tariffs and subsidy removals that turned ordinary Nigerians into beggars. After bleeding the people dry, he now wants to make the suffering permanent by legislation. This is how you hold a country hostage”. Another publication, @GazetteNGR, noted the absurdity of the move, stating: “Even the constitution, the fundamental agreement on which this damned country was created, can be amended or replaced. Clowns in power”. The user added: “These type of madness can only be conceived by a government that have come to terms to the fact that they will be out of power in no time. The fear of defeat is real”.
The timing of the proposal is particularly sensitive. It comes just months before the 2027 general elections, with the Tinubu administration facing widespread public anger over the cost of living, unemployment and insecurity. Nigerians argue that the law is an admission that the government knows it will be voted out and is trying to bind the hands of its successor. For a President who has spent 261 days abroad on 52 foreign trips, added N79.41 trillion to the national debt and failed to secure the release of children abducted from their schools, the move to lock in his policies is being seen as a final attempt to cement a legacy that Nigerians are desperate to reverse.
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