₦airaland Forum

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has weighed in on the fresh debate over the removal of fuel subsidy by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

On May 29, 2023, President Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidy, declaring that “subsidy is gone.”

Since the policy was announced, prices of commodities, transportation fares and other essential goods and services have risen sharply.

The decision had generated mixed reactions, with some Nigerians supporting it while others opposed it on the grounds that it would worsen hardship for the people.

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, who did not earlier oppose the removal of the subsidy, recently pledged to restore it if elected president in 2027.

Speaking during an interview streamed live on Facebook with some Hausa-language news platforms on Wednesday, Atiku said the removal of the subsidy had failed to improve the lives of Nigerians.

However, Obi, who is contesting the presidency on the platform of the NDC, disagreed with Atiku.

Speaking on Monday at a conference organised by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, Obi said the mismanagement of the gains from subsidy removal should not, on its own, be a reason to reverse the policy.

He said the government should have provided Nigerians with alternative benefits from the resources saved through the removal of the subsidy.

“I subscribe and maintain that you need to remove subsidy. Mismanagement of the proceeds shouldn’t be the reason for not removing it.

What we should have done is that when we removed the subsidy, we would 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. For example, we have received, according to them, N16 trillion.” Obi said.

The former Anambra State governor, who said his leadership blueprint for Nigeria provided for the removal of the subsidy in an organised manner, said the proceeds recovered would be properly invested for the benefit of all Nigerians.

"Mismanagement of subsidy proceeds is not enough reason to not remove subsidy" - Peter Obi

I thought they said Peter Obi is a populist?

So why is it Atiku parroting the "bring back subsidy" narrative? pic.twitter.com/KHOGwk19xo

— Nehemiah (@kcemenikex) August 24, 2026

AMINDA:
You have to be disruptive and come up with policy positions that differ from the status quo.

DeepSight:
For me, this is the most important thing. Its ridiculous for the govt of the day and the opposition to all be saying the same thing. If they are, there is no point in opposition. Even if bringing back the subsidy is a bad idea (and it is not) certainly there is value in having opposing ideas which the electorate will interrogate.

GloriousGbola:
Atikulator wey dey disguise

You were defending gej for the failed 2011 subsidy removal, now you are saying bringing back subsidy is a good idea.

We will all be alright las Las.

Kukutente23:
I really feel for Obi here
He was caught between a rock and a hard place.
If he backed Atiku's proposal, he will be seen as lacking originality and also lose his fellow billionaire friends who are the prime beneficiaries of naira devaluation which they've all applauded.

He had no choice but to play safe but I think he did it very weakly. Since Atiku raised that counterpunch, I expected Obi to have come from the angle of accountability. That's the lowest hanging fruit.

Whether subsidy is removed or reintroduced, the fundamental thing is accountability. If subsidy is removed, where's the benefit of the removal? If subsidy is introduced. How do we ensure its not corrupted and mismanaged?

In fact, I expected him to have raised a team of forensic analysts who would have shown how this govt has mismanaged the subsidy removal aftermath. Because that's why they are sending you to the govs. They can't account for the proceeds of subsidy removal on their own.

Obi seems unimaginative to me. He just goes with the flow and hopes the saintly and meek persona he's posturing (which makes him look like he's just catching cruise) will endear him to Nigerians as it did for Buhari. Unfortunately, he's dealing with a propaganda machine that can find dirt and magnify it even when none exists.

I think Obi doesn't have the stomach and the grit for 2027. That's my honest assessment. He should just collapse his campaign because in the end, He is being used as a canon to distract the opposition by the APC in my view.

AMINDA:
Obi no longer has strategists in his team and it shows. As a serious presidential aspirant, you can't continue to run a one-man show or at worst, have characters like Peter Akah and Mama Pee as your only close confidants. He went from having the likes of Senator Abaribe, Emeka Ihedioha, Umeh, etc in his team to this. Even Aisha Yesufu and Serah appear to have withdrawn from his corner. Even the synergy between himself and Kwankwaso is not there.

IamPatriotic:
Who won't disagree with Atiku's almajiri economic policies, where everything is free, including marriage?

Segunbabba:
https://dailytrust.com/2027-obi-disagrees-with-atiku-backs-fuel-subsidy-removal/

"Mismanagement of subsidy proceeds is not enough reason to not remove subsidy" - Peter Obi

I thought they said Peter Obi is a populist?

So why is it Atiku parroting the "bring back subsidy" narrative? pic.twitter.com/KHOGwk19xo

— Nehemiah (@kcemenikex) August 24, 2026

Yemimovich:
Clowns everywhere. Atiku is out of ideas, even though he said he too would remove subsidy, and does that mean he only said it then in 2023 with no game plan, and only to return with a new campaign lamba that he would return it. That's a confused man. Obi is more than a clown. He cracks jokes here and there. Holding world press conference with his clueless followers. What will he invest with the subsidy fund to better the lives of the people as if the people are relying on subsidy

helinues:
He had no choice than to reverse after the backlash. He initially backed Atiku.

I still commented on thread about it yesterday

The opposition are really struggling on what to use as campaign against this government