CLAIM: Late Ex-President Buhari Performed Better Than His Successor, Bola Tinubu
On July 29, 2025, an X user @Harmless123445 made several economic and governance-related claims to argue that former President Muhammadu Buhari performed better than his successor, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The post had an image of former President Muhammadu Buhari with the caption “Kept PMS at 200 Naira per litre. Kept gas at N250/kg. Kept dollar at N420/$1. Never bothered to remove fuel subsidy. Retained electricity subsidy. Kept national debt at N12 trillion in 8 years. And still managed to achieve more infrastructures than president Tinubu. If you dip it, Buhari was very much better than Bola”.
When this report was published, this claim had over 120,000 views, and about 2,500 replies, reposts, quotes, likes, and bookmarks. In the comment section, @CountLuchino said “Are you plain dumb or you are feigning it? One spent 8 years and the other is yet complete a 4-year term”, and @kennykenero wrote “Buhari left behind huge debts. In doubt, ask Debt Management Office. He printed huge sum of paper money. If you don't know what that means, ask Google. He is your friend”.
VERIFICATION
CLAIM 1: Buhari Kept PMS Price At 200 Naira Per Litre
VERIFICATION
Throughout President Muhammadu Buhari’s 8-year tenure which he served from 2015 to 2023, the official pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, commonly known as petrol, remained below ₦200/litre. In July 2020, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA set petrol price at 140.80 Naira and 143.80 Naira per litre as price band. By 2020–2022, the price hovered around 165–193 Naira per litre across the various regions in the country, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS. As of May 2023, when Buhari left office, the official NNPC pump price was 185 Naira.
VERDICT
The claim that Buhari kept the PMS price at 200 Naira per is TRUE.
CLAIM 2: Buhari Kept Cooking Gas Price At 250 Naira Per KG
VERIFICATION
During Buhari’s administration, the price of cooking gas, Liquified Petroleum Gas, LPG, rose sharply and far exceeded 250 Naira per kilogram in most of the country. According to a report from The Punch, the average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of LPG increased by 105 per cent in August 2022, as LPG increased from 2200 Naira in August 2021 to 4500 Naira in August 2022, which is about 900 naira per kg.
VERDICT
The claim that Buhari kept cooking gas at 250 naira per kg is FALSE, LPG was sold for 900 naira per kg towards the end of Buhari’s tenure.
CLAIM 3: Buhari Kept Dollar At 420 Naira Per Dollar During His Administration
VERIFICATION
According to findings, Nigeria’s currency weakened under Buhari. BusinessDay Nigeria reported that the naira depreciated by 37.58 percent (280 Naira) to 745 Naira per dollar as of Wednesday, May 17, 2023, compared to 465 Naira per dollar in 2016.
VERDICT
The claim that Buhari kept the dollar at 420 naira per dollar is MISLEADING as naira depreciated significantly during his administration.
CLAIM 4: Buhari Never Removed Fuel Subsidy
VERIFICATION
A December 2024 statement shared by Late Buhari’s presidential aide, Femi Adesina, said the president avoided removing subsidies despite sharing the conviction that it was necessary to do so.
“He didn’t want to do something that would throw society into a tailspin for the sake of the ordinary people,” said Adesina. Hence, throughout Late Buhari’s 8-year tenure, he did not remove the fuel subsidy.
VERDICT
The claim that Buhari never removed fuel subsidies is TRUE. Fuel subsidy removal was implemented by President Tinubu’s administration
CLAIM 5: Late Buhari Retained Electricity Subsidy
VERIFICATION
Popular Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, alleged that the Federal Government stopped payment of electricity subsidy in 2022 claiming that fuel subsidy was removed in 2022.
In another exposé written by Falana and published in Vanguard News Nigeria on April 8, 2024, he stated that on March 12, 2022, the then Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed that the Federal Government had quietly removed electricity subsidy.
According to Falana, “On March 12, 2022, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed that the Federal Government had quietly removed electricity subsidy. Speaking at a virtual meeting of African Finance Ministers and the International Monetary Fund, Ahmed also said the amendment of the budget was ongoing to accommodate the incremental removal of fuel subsidy. The theme of the meeting was ‘The political economy of fiscal reforms’”.
“To the utter dismay of Nigerians, the Minister of Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu claimed on January 15, 2024 that, “the Federal Government still subsidises electricity because the current tariff DISCOs are allowed to charge is not cost-reflective. This is why the Federal Government spent close to N700 billion in 2023 to subsidise electricity. If tariffs are left at this current rate, it is projected that the government will spend about N1.7 trillion to subsidise electricity. The FG cannot afford that.””
However, on March 6, 2024, the International Monetary Fund, IMF shared that Nigeria’s continuation of fuel and electricity subsidy will cost the country 2.33 trillion naira or three percent of its Gross Domestic Product, GDP in 2024.
VERDICT
The claim that Late Buhari retained electricity subsidy cannot be verified. Accounts from the former Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed and a legal luminary suggest that it was removed. This claim was not contested by the federal government. However, the current Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu suggests that it is still being paid with no clarity on whether it was continued from the previous administration or reintroduced in 2024.
CLAIM 6: Buhari Kept National Debt At 12 Trillion Naira In 8 Years
VERIFICATION
Data from Nigeria’s Debt Management Office, DMO, note that the country’s total public debt stood at 12.1 trillion naira in June 2015. Further findings reveal that as of May 2023, the debt stood at 69 trillion Naira.
VERDICT
The claim that Buhari kept national debt at 12 trillion Naira in 8 years is FALSE.
CONCLUSION
The claims made by the X user about Buhari’s economic performance are PARTLY FALSE. Yes, it is TRUE that Buhari kept PMS price at 200 per litre and never removed fuel subsidy. However, the claim that Buhari kept cooking gas at 250 Naira per kg, kept national debt at 12 trillion Naira in 8 years is FALSE, while the claim that Buhari kept the dollar at 420 Naira per 1 Dollar is MISLEADING. Moreover, the claim that he retained the electricity subsidy is UNPROVEN.
