By Daniel Abia, P/Harcourt
The Presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr. Peter Obi, has disagreed with the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, over his proposed return of fuel subsidy if elected in 2027.
Meanwhile, the presidential candidates of other opposition political parties, yesterday, clashed over Nigeria’s worsening security situation, policing structure, fuel subsidy and the economy as the race for the 2027 presidency took centre stage at the NBA, conference in Port Harcourt.
Obi, who accused the Federal Government of mismanaging the savings from the proceeds of fuel susidy removal, said it was not enough reason to bring it back.
The ex-governor of Anambra State spoke, yesterday, at the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, while reacting to the debate over whether fuel subsidy should be restored as proposed by Atiku.
Atiku, who campaigned for the removal of fuel subsidy during the 2023, presidential election, had said he would restore the policy if elected president in 2027.
But Obi maintained that subsidy removal remained necessary, arguing that the problem was the failure to properly manage and invest the resources saved from the policy.
“I subscribe and I maintain that we need to remove subsidy. Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it.
“What we should have done is that when we removed it, we should have given the people alternative usage for the subsidy.
“What we have today is that that removal and the attendant resources being recovered is also being mismanaged and stolen,” he said.
The former governor said he had anticipated the need for a structured approach to subsidy removal and had outlined his position in his manifesto ahead of the 2023 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,” Obi said.
President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy on his inauguration day in May 2023, triggering a sharp increase in petrol prices and widespread concerns over the rising cost of living.
Amaechi, Sowore, other presidential candidates fault FG’s policies
The candidates, who spoke during a high-powered panel session, offered sharply different solutions to the country’s challenges, with some calling for a change of government, while others advocated deeper reforms of the existing system.
The debate came as the Chief of Staff to President Tinubu, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, defended the federal government’s proposed state police reform, saying the administration had confronted an issue that successive governments had avoided.
Former Rivers State governor and vice presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress, ADC, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, said the economy could only be stabilised through massive job creation, local production and policies that would put more money in the pockets of Nigerians.
Amaechi, who recalled his record as governor of Rivers State, said his administration built more than 500 primary schools, over 300 health centres and more than 200 roads, while using intelligence gathering to drastically reduce crime.
He also promised that an Atiku Abubakar-Amaechi administration would ensure equitable distribution of political appointments across the country, criticising what he described as concentration of appointments under the Tinubu administration.
The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, Omoyele Sowore, meanwhile, called for a change of government, arguing that Nigeria’s security crisis could not be resolved under the present leadership.
Sowore also took aim at the federal government’s fuel subsidy policy, insisting that he had consistently opposed subsidy because of the way it was administered.
He said: “If there is anybody that has been consistent in the removal of fuel subsidy, it has been me. The question about fuel subsidy is: who are you subsidising? You are subsidising the elite. You are subsidising the governors.”
On security, he and the Social Democratic Party, SDP, presidential candidate, Adewale Adebayo, argued that Nigeria required a change in leadership to tackle terrorism and other security threats.
Adebayo, however, differed with most of the candidates on the structure of policing, advocating a three-tier system involving federal, state and local government police.
Former Cross River State governor, Donald Duke, said leadership remained the central issue confronting Nigeria, arguing that getting the leadership question right would have a multiplier effect on other sectors.
“If we get the leadership right, everything else will fall into place,” Duke said, while condemning the influence of ethnicity in Nigerian politics and advocating reforms to strengthen the country’s presidential system.
Earlier, Gbajabiamila, in a keynote address, titled “Policing in Transition,” said the Tinubu administration’s decision to pursue state police was aimed at addressing the limitations of the existing centralised policing system.
“Centralised policing without safeguards will bring about more chaos,” he warned, explaining that the proposed reform was designed around a dual policing system that would address existing gaps.
Addressing fears that state police could be abused by governors against political opponents, Gbajabiamila queried: “Who polices the police?”
He identified inadequate police manpower and deployment as major challenges, noting that Nigeria had about one policeman to every 650 people, compared with an international benchmark of one to every 450.
He added that the situation was worsened by the deployment of many police officers to administrative and escort duties, rather than core policing responsibilities.
The presidential aide also stressed training, professionalism and institutional safeguards, saying policing must become a respected career capable of attracting competent Nigerians.
He acknowledged that governors, as elected chief executives, must have executive authority but insisted that they should not be allowed to order the arrest of political opponents.
He also said police officers who rejected unlawful orders must be protected, arguing that such safeguards must be backed by strong institutions, rather than mere assurances.
The NBA conference thus provided one of the earliest major platforms for 2027 presidential hopefuls to publicly test their competing positions on security, economic management and governance, setting the stage for a potentially intense political contest ahead of the general elections.
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