Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has supported the removal of petrol subsidy, saying the policy should not be reversed because the money saved from it was poorly managed.
Obi made his position known on Monday at the Nigerian Bar Association conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, while discussing the fuel subsidy debate ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The former Anambra State governor said Nigeria needed to end petrol subsidy but argued that the government should have put measures in place to reduce the hardship faced by citizens after the policy was introduced.
Obi said the main problem was not the removal of the subsidy but the way the funds saved from the policy were handled. He alleged that the resources had not been properly managed and called for greater accountability in the use of public funds.
He explained that Nigerians should have been given practical alternatives when the subsidy was removed. According to him, the government could have used part of the savings to support areas that would reduce the impact of higher fuel prices on households and businesses.
His position places him against the proposal by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who has said he would restore fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027.
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Obi maintained that restoring the subsidy would not solve the real problem. Instead, he argued that the government should focus on ensuring that money saved from subsidy removal is invested in productive sectors of the economy.
He also recalled that he had proposed a structured approach to subsidy removal in his manifesto ahead of the 2023 presidential election. He said his plan involved removing the subsidy in an organised way while directing the recovered funds towards areas that would produce better economic results.
President Bola Tinubu removed the petrol subsidy shortly after taking office in May 2023. The decision resulted in a sharp rise in fuel prices and added pressure to the cost of transportation, food and other basic goods.
The Federal Government has continued to defend the policy, arguing that maintaining the subsidy placed a heavy burden on public finances and limited the funds available for other areas of government.
However, the use of the funds saved from the policy has remained a major subject of debate, with opposition figures and other critics demanding more transparency over how the money has been spent.
Obi’s latest comments therefore add another position to the growing political debate over the future of petrol subsidy as political parties and presidential contenders prepare for the 2027 election.
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