Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has accused Nigerians of having a "short memory" regarding the country's economic challenges, claiming they have forgotten the conditions that existed before the current administration took office.

Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Saturday, Onanuga defended the administration's economic policies, particularly the controversial removal of fuel subsidies that has been widely criticized for increasing hardship across the country.

"Many Nigerians sometimes exhibit the problem of lack of memory. We have very short memory, we forget where we started from and we just start blaming President Tinubu for all the problems that Nigeria is going through," Onanuga stated.

The presidential aide emphasized that when Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, Nigeria was already experiencing fuel shortages. "I remember, for instance, in May 2023, when Tinubu took over the government, there was fuel shortage in this country. If we forgot that all through the election that year, there was fuel shortage," he said.

According to Onanuga, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) claimed the federal government owed it over 4 trillion Naira and was also indebted to international suppliers, which contributed to the fuel supply challenges.

Defending the subsidy removal decision, Onanuga insisted: "There was no way Nigeria could have sustained the regime of fuel subsidy. No way, because the resources are just not there, and we are just spending the money they ought to belong to the future generation. So the government just had to do the right thing."

While acknowledging the hardships faced by Nigerians, Onanuga maintained that the administration has been transparent about the challenges resulting from subsidy removal and claimed the government is implementing measures to alleviate citizens' suffering.

"This government has been honest in admitting some of the problems, some of the fallouts of the consequence of removing fuel subsidy, and has been doing a lot of measures to ameliorate the pains of Nigerians," he added.

Onanuga's comments come amid growing criticism of the Tinubu administration's economic policies, with many Nigerians reporting increased hardship and a rising cost of living since the removal of fuel subsidies.