The presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Peter Agada, has ruled out restoring petrol subsidy if elected in 2027, saying he would maintain the policy introduced by President Bola Tinubu.
Agada stated this on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he discussed his plans to address Nigeria’s revenue and expenditure challenges.
Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy during his inauguration on May 29, 2023. The decision triggered an increase in petrol prices and raised the cost of goods and services.
While some presidential hopefuls, including African Democratic Congress candidate Atiku Abubakar, have called for the restoration of the subsidy to reduce fuel costs and ease economic hardship, Agada said he would retain its removal.
The YPP candidate argued that Nigeria’s economic difficulties were not caused solely by subsidy removal but were also linked to the management of oil revenue and the cost of crude oil production.
Referring to comments by the Minister of State for Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, Agada questioned how much revenue the Federal Government actually receives from crude oil production after royalties and other deductions.
He maintained that the amount retained by the government was inadequate to meet the country’s needs despite its oil production capacity.
Agada said his administration would review the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) system to identify waste and improve government revenue.
He argued that inefficiencies within the system contributed to Nigeria’s revenue challenges and required reforms.
The presidential candidate acknowledged that the country faced both revenue and expenditure problems but identified inefficient public spending as a more pressing concern.
He said improving expenditure management and eliminating financial leakages would be central to addressing Nigeria’s economic challenges without reversing the removal of petrol subsidy.