Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, says the removal of oil subsidy is as a result of Nigeria's poor economic state. According to Mohammed, Nigeria is broke. Mohammed said this while speaking with State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja yesterday May 18th.

“The current problem is not really about subsidy removal. It is about that Nigeria is broke. Pure and simple! It is like somebody who has been earning N100,000 a month and he is faced with a situation where his employer says henceforth you will be earning N10,000 a month. He would need to make some very painful decisions and some very painful adjustments. That is the situation with Nigeria today. A few months ago, we were earning as much as $100 for every barrel of crude. We no longer have the resources, the foreign exchange to bring in refined fuel products. And our economy is shrinking. We appreciate the fact that the decision is going to affect everybody. We appreciate what we are going through, but Nigerians should also know that the government has the responsibility at times to take very difficult decisions. So, it is not always about popularity.”‎he said