Former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has revealed that late President Muhammadu Buhari once threatened to sack him if his push to end petrol subsidy during his administration failed.

Speaking on Monday at a virtual business mentorship lecture organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Kachikwu explained that the toughest challenge he faced when he became Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company in 2015 was the nationwide fuel scarcity.

He said despite long nights of effort, much of the subsidised petrol brought into the country was being smuggled across borders, leaving filling stations empty and Nigerians stranded.

Kachikwu recalled that he went to Buhari several times, asking for pump price adjustments to curb losses. But the president, who was strongly against subsidy removal at the time, resisted the idea. According to him, Buhari eventually told him: “If it works, fine. If it doesn’t, I’ll fire you.”

Faced with the risk, Kachikwu introduced a price modulation policy, which adjusted petrol prices to reflect global oil market realities. He said the move effectively removed the subsidy and cleared fuel queues across the country within 48 hours.

Kachikwu also disclosed that he refused to pay billions of naira in outstanding subsidy arrears because many of the claims were unverifiable.

Looking at present policies, he noted that the fuel subsidy removal by President Bola Tinubu was unavoidable but argued that it should have been paired with concrete plans for refineries, infrastructure, transport support, and oil-producing communities.