By Opeyemi Adelakun
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has backed President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove petrol subsidy, saying poor management of the resulting savings should not be used as a reason to reverse the policy.
Obi stated this on Monday during a panel session at the Nigerian Bar Association Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The former Anambra State governor said he had consistently supported subsidy removal, arguing that the real concern should be how government manages and invests the resources saved from the policy.
“Well, I subscribe, and I maintain that you need to remove subsidy. Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it,” Obi said.
He argued that the government should have provided measures to cushion the impact of subsidy removal while directing the savings towards critical sectors of the economy.
“What we should have done is that when we remove subsidy, we would have given the people an alternative usage for the subsidy. What we have today is that that removal and attendant resources being recovered are also being mismanaged and stolen,” he added.
Obi said the resources should have been invested in healthcare and other sectors capable of improving the living conditions of Nigerians.
He also claimed that the Federal Government had reported receiving about N16tn from savings associated with subsidy removal, stressing the need for transparency in the management of the funds.
“It’s what you use the money for that is the problem,” he said, adding that part of the proceeds could also have been saved to strengthen Nigeria’s sovereign wealth position.
The subsidy removal, announced by Tinubu during his inauguration on May 29, 2023, triggered a sharp increase in petrol prices and contributed to higher transportation and living costs across the country.
While the Federal Government has continued to defend the policy as necessary to redirect funds towards national development, opposition figures have remained divided over its future.
The African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has promised to reinstate the subsidy if elected in 2027, arguing that its removal under Tinubu has failed to produce the expected benefits for Nigerians.
Tinubu has criticised the proposal, maintaining that the subsidy regime placed a heavy burden on government finances.
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