Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has said he will reinstate petrol subsidy if elected president in the 2027 general election, arguing that Nigerians have not seen sufficient benefits from its removal.
Atiku made the pledge during a Hausa-language interview on Wednesday, where he questioned the Federal Government’s management of the resources generated since the subsidy was scrapped.
The former Vice President said he had not opposed the decision to remove the subsidy but insisted that the savings should have been channelled into programmes capable of reducing poverty and improving the welfare of Nigerians.
“I did not oppose the removal of the oil subsidy, but where is the money? Where did it go? It was intended to reduce poverty and help children attend school. Where is the money now? It seems they are just stealing it,” Atiku said.
He added that if elected, his administration would restore the subsidy and pursue the recovery of funds allegedly misappropriated.
“If elected, I will bring back the oil subsidy, and whoever stole the money must refund it,” he said.
Atiku argued that subsidy removal would have been easier to justify if the resulting savings had been transparently invested in critical sectors of the economy.
He said such resources could have been used to improve security, strengthen education, create jobs and expand opportunities for young Nigerians.
“The government successfully removed the subsidy, but we do not know where the money went. If they had used the money for development, to solve security problems, for education, and to create opportunities for the youth, it would be different,” he said.
“If elected, I can remove the subsidy and use the money to do all these properly,” he added.
President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy during his inauguration speech on May 29, 2023, triggering a sharp increase in fuel prices and subsequent rises in the cost of goods and services.
The policy has remained one of the most contentious economic decisions of the Tinubu administration, although some state governors have acknowledged increased monthly allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) since its implementation.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said on Wednesday that subsidy removal had generated N15.8 trillion in resources for the federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
Oyedele explained that the increase reflected higher revenue collections, particularly from the naira value of dollar-denominated transactions following the foreign exchange reforms.
Atiku’s pledge to restore the subsidy is likely to feature prominently in the economic debate ahead of the 2027 presidential election, as political parties and candidates present competing approaches to addressing the country’s cost-of-living challenges.
