Presidential candidates Peter Obi and Omoyele Sowore have rejected former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to restore petrol subsidy if he wins the 2027 presidential election.
Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, said subsidy removal remains necessary. However, he criticised successive governments for failing to properly manage the savings from the policy. Speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Obi said the government should have invested the savings in productive sectors.
“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 also said the government should have introduced measures to reduce the impact of subsidy removal on Nigerians. Sowore, the African Action Congress presidential candidate, also rejected a return to the old subsidy regime. He argued that governors and the elite had benefited more from the policy than ordinary Nigerians.
“The question about fuel subsidy is: who are you subsidising? You are subsidising the elite. You are subsidising the governors. The only people who are doing well since the removal of fuel subsidy are the governors of states,” Sowore said.
HURIWA backs temporary subsidy
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria backed a temporary petrol subsidy to ease rising fuel prices and living costs. However, HURIWA demanded an independent audit of the N15.8tn the Federal Government says it saved after removing the subsidy in 2023.
“HURIWA demands that the federal government tell Nigerians, with verifiable documents, exactly how much it saved from subsidy removal, how much it distributed among the three tiers of government, and how the funds were ultimately spent,” the group said.
Idris rejects subsidy return
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, warned against restoring petrol subsidy. He said the policy could worsen Nigeria’s fiscal position and reverse economic gains recorded since its removal. Idris cited government figures showing that subsidy removal generated N15.8tn for the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
“Nigeria cannot build tomorrow’s economy by returning to yesterday’s unsustainable subsidy regime. We have moved beyond that model,” Idris said.
Atiku’s campaign clarifies proposal
Atiku’s campaign spokesman, Kenneth Okonkwo, said the former vice-president was not proposing a return to the old subsidy system. Instead, he said Atiku’s Fuel Affordability Plan would focus on domestic refining and affordable crude oil supplies to local refineries.
According to Okonkwo, the plan would help lower production costs and make petrol more affordable for Nigerians.
“Atiku is not going back to that and cannot even go back to that,” Okonkwo said.
The disagreement comes as political figures and groups continue to debate petrol subsidy removal and how the savings have been used.
Read also: Atiku Vows to Restore Fuel Subsidy If Elected President in 2027
