Islamic cleric, Sheikh Haliru Maraya
Kaduna-based Islamic scholar and former Special Adviser to two former governors of Kaduna State, Sheikh Haliru Maraya, has warned politicians seeking elective offices in the 2027 elections against making unrealistic promises to Nigerians in their bid to secure votes.
Maraya, who spoke on the debate over calls for the return of fuel subsidy, urged presidential aspirants and other political candidates to be truthful about the country’s economic realities and clearly explain to Nigerians what is achievable and what is not.
He said politicians must not deceive the electorate with promises they know they cannot fulfil, stressing that seeking political power should not be placed above the interest of the country.
“Presidential candidates should always tell people the truth. They should not deceive Nigerians simply because they want to win votes. God does not like lies and deception,” he said.
The cleric argued that Nigeria’s current economic situation could not sustain a return to the old fuel subsidy regime, describing the policy as financially burdensome and capable of further weakening the economy if restored without a sustainable financing plan.
“At present, Nigeria’s economy, to be honest, cannot afford to continue paying fuel subsidies as it did in the past. If the subsidy is brought back, the economy could collapse within a short time, and the government may be unable to do other important things,” Maraya said.
According to him, available estimates put Nigeria’s daily petrol consumption between 47 million and 64 million litres, while the total cost of a litre, including refining, transportation, insurance and customs charges, stands at about N1,218.
He said restoring subsidy would therefore require the Federal Government to commit enormous resources that could otherwise be channelled into infrastructure and other critical development projects.
“If Nigeria takes on the cost of the subsidy as it did in the past, it would spend about N52.3 billion every day. That would amount to about N1.6 trillion every month and more than N19 trillion every year,” he said.
Maraya questioned where the government would source such funds, particularly against the backdrop of the size of the national budget.
He said politicians seeking the presidency should take into consideration the country’s financial capacity before making campaign promises, urging them to fear God and avoid telling Nigerians what they know cannot be delivered.
“People should not make promises they cannot fulfil simply because they want votes and political power. Later, such a person may come back and apologise to Nigerians, saying that they did not know how difficult the situation was,” he said.
The Islamic scholar said Nigeria needed leaders who would be courageous enough to tell citizens the truth about the state of the economy and take difficult but responsible decisions in the national interest.
“We Nigerians need leaders who will tell us the truth about the state of our economy and then take the right decisions concerning the removal of fuel subsidy,” he said.
Maraya also appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience with the removal of the subsidy, arguing that resources previously committed to subsidising petrol could be redirected towards projects capable of improving the lives of citizens.
“We should be patient with the removal of the subsidy because the government was spending N52 billion every day on it. The money saved can be used to carry out other development projects for the country and its people,” he said.
However, he called on the Federal Government to urgently rehabilitate Nigeria’s existing refineries and encourage the construction of new ones as part of efforts to reduce the country’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
“We hope Nigerians will continue to be patient until our four refineries are repaired. We also hope that new refineries will be built in the future so that some of the prob
