Tinubu: Subsidy Beneficiaries Are Backing Terrorism, Cabals Want Me Dead

Subsidy Cabals Want Me Dead, Tinubu Tells NADECO

President Bola Tinubu says the powerful interests behind Nigeria’s old oil subsidy and foreign exchange rackets are plotting to kill him — and that some of those same people are bankrolling terrorism.

Speaking at the 32nd anniversary of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) on Tuesday — the same pro-democracy group he fought alongside during the Abacha years — Tinubu pulled no punches.

“Oil subsidy and exchange rate cabals want me dead,” the President said flatly.

He went further than he has before, linking the beneficiaries of the decades-long subsidy regime directly to terrorist financing. The message was clear: the fight over subsidy removal isn’t about economics. It’s about national survival.

Tinubu has framed subsidy removal as his signature reform since day one in office — literally declaring “subsidy is gone” in his 2023 inaugural address, a move that sent fuel prices soaring overnight. Three years later, he’s still fighting the same battle.

“Enemies of Progress”

At the NADECO gathering, the President also reflected on his time in the trenches with figures like Wole Soyinka, suggesting the same spirit that brought down military rule is what’s needed to break the grip of economic saboteurs today.

He urged Nigerians to watch out for what he called “enemies of progress” — people who, in his words, would rather see the country burn than lose access to state resources.

The allegations mark a sharp turn in Tinubu’s rhetoric against opponents of his economic reforms, with the 2027 election cycle already heating up.

Sources: The Nation, Vanguard, Tribune