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Former Anambra State Governor and presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has disagreed with Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to bring back fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027.
Obi spoke on Monday at the Nigerian Bar Association conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he weighed in on the growing debate over the controversial policy. Atiku, who supported subsidy removal during the 2023 presidential election, recently said he would consider restoring a targeted subsidy if given the mandate in 2027.
Obi, however, maintained that removing the subsidy was necessary, arguing that the real problem was not its removal but how the government has handled the money saved from the policy.
According to him, the resources recovered from subsidy removal should have been properly invested in productive areas of the economy, while measures should have been put in place to reduce the hardship faced by Nigerians.
“I subscribe and I maintain that we need to remove subsidy. Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it,” Obi said.
He further alleged that the savings from subsidy removal have been poorly managed and, in some cases, stolen. Obi said the government should have provided practical alternatives for Nigerians and ensured that the money saved was used to improve infrastructure, healthcare, education and other critical sectors.
The former governor also pointed to his 2023 manifesto, saying he had already outlined how subsidy removal could be handled in a more organised manner and how the recovered funds should be invested.
President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy during his inauguration on May 29, 2023. The decision led to a sharp rise in fuel prices and intensified the cost-of-living crisis, with the government maintaining that the policy was necessary to reduce the country’s financial burden.
As the 2027 election approaches, the disagreement between Obi and Atiku adds another layer to the growing debate over how Nigeria should manage fuel prices, public spending and the resources saved from subsidy removal.
