By Henry Umoru
Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC ahead of the January 16 election, Peter Obi, has thrown his weight behind the removal of petrol subsidy, but was quick to say that poor management of the savings from the policy should not be a reason to reverse it.
The former Anambra State Governor said that subsidy removal was necessary, stressing that the Federal Government failed to put proper measures in place to protect Nigerians from the immediate effects of the policy.
Obi said, “I subscribe and I maintain that we need to remove subsidy. Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it.”
According to him, the government should have provided alternatives for Nigerians while directing the savings from subsidy removal into productive areas that would improve the economy.
The 2023 Presidential candidate of Labour Party, LP who spoke on Monday at the Nigerian Bar Association conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, added his voice to the growing debate over the future of fuel subsidy ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Obi’s position differs from that of the Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who has said he would restore the subsidy if elected president in 2027.
Obi said, “What we should have done is that when we removed it, we should have given the people alternative usage for the subsidy.”
The NDC Presidential candidate, who alleged that the resources saved from subsidy removal had been mismanaged and stolen, said that the problem was not the removal itself but how the resulting funds were handled, adding that he had proposed a structured approach to subsidy removal in his manifesto before the 2023 presidential election.
“Go to my manifesto, I said it before, I said I will do it in an organised manner and whatever we recover would be invested appropriately,” he said.
President Bola Tinubu had announced the removal of petrol subsidy shortly after assuming office in May 2023. The decision led to a significant increase in petrol prices and intensified concerns over the rising cost of living.
While the Federal Government has maintained that subsidy removal was necessary to reduce pressure on public finances, critics have continued to question how the savings have been used.
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