Fuel Subsidy Removal, Household Coping Strategies, and Public Perceptions of Government Interventions in Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract

Fuel-subsidy removal constitutes a major neoliberal economic reform with substantial implications for household welfare, public trust, and the legitimacy of government intervention. This study examines household coping strategies and perceptions of government policy responses following fuel-subsidy removal in Kogi State, Nigeria. Guided by neoliberal economic theory, the study employed a quantitative survey design and analysed the data using descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation, cluster analysis, logistic regression, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings identify reduced consumption and income-source diversification as prominent household coping strategies, demonstrating the economic pressures associated with subsidy removal. Logistic regression indicates that income quartile and employment type significantly influence the likelihood of adopting a coping strategy, while ANOVA identifies occupation as an important determinant of attitudes towards government policies. Civil servants express relatively positive attitudes towards government responses, whereas self-employed and unemployed respondents report more negative perceptions, reflecting differences in economic exposure and access to state support. Government measures intended to mitigate the reform’s effects, including cash transfers and social safety nets, are widely perceived as ineffective, poorly targeted, and lacking transparency, thereby reinforcing public distrust. The study concludes that compensatory measures accompanying fuel-subsidy reforms must be transparent, accountable, and carefully targeted to address the economic and social needs of vulnerable households. By connecting coping behaviour with public acceptance and dissatisfaction, this study contributes to broader debates on the distributional and social consequences of neoliberal reforms and provides policy-relevant evidence for designing more responsive social-protection interventions.