President Bola Tinubu says he came to help Nigerians and not hurt them, lamenting rising cost of fuel and food in Nigeria after his administration ended fuel subsidy.

“Our economy is going through a tough patch and you are being hurt by it,” Mr Tinubu said. “The cost of fuel has gone up. Food and other prices have followed it. Households and businesses struggle.”

The President made this statement in a nationwide broadcast on Monday.

“Things seem anxious and uncertain. I understand the hardship you face. I wish there were other ways. But there is not. If there were, I would have taken that route as I came here to help not hurt the people and nation that I love,” Mr Tinubu said.

Mr Tinubu’s admittance on economic hardship in the country comes barely two months after he assumed office, ending fuel subsidy regime.

In his inaugural speech on May 29, Mr Tinubu said, “subsidy is gone,” triggering pump price from N145 to N545, which later hit N617.

In a bid to cushion the ripple effect of increased pump price, Mr Tinubu announced a $10 for 12 million households. The government has, however, reversed the idea.

Though Mr Tinubu-led administration is projected to save at least N13 trillion from subsidy reform in three years, the World Bank said: “compensating transfers will be essential to help shield the most vulnerable Nigerian households from the initial price impacts of the subsidy reform.”

“Without compensation, many households could be pushed into poverty by higher petrol prices and have to resort to coping mechanisms with long-term adverse consequences,” World Bank added.