Abstract
This study investigates the private sector implications of fuel subsidy removal on inflation and purchasing power in Nigeria, using BUA Cement Plc and Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) to make a case for private sector firms and households. The removal of fuel subsidy in 2023 was intended to reduce government expenditure and promote economic efficiency. However, it led to an immediate rise in fuel prices, transportation costs, and inflation, which adversely affected household welfare because it increased production costs for private firms. An ex-post facto and descriptive research design was adopted, relying solely on secondary data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), World Bank, and BUA Cement Plc annual reports for the period 2015–2025 to ascertain the relationships among fuel subsidy removal, inflation, and purchasing power. Consequently, analytical tools such as descriptive statistics, correlation, and t-tests were employed to determine that relationship. The study findings revealed that fuel subsidy removal significantly affected the profitability of private firms (r = 0.957; t = 9.84), increased inflation (t = 3.01 > 2.262), and that inflation had a significant effect on purchasing power (r = 0.91). The study concludes that although subsidy removal may enhance fiscal stability in the long run, it creates short-term inflationary pressures that weaken purchasing power and raise operational costs for firms. Accordingly, the study recommends that government should implement some measures of social protection, provide tax incentives for affected firms, and ensure transparent reinvestment of subsidy savings into infrastructure that support economic development among others.
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