Presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, has disagreed with the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, over the latter’s proposal to restore fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027.
Obi said the removal of subsidy remained necessary, arguing that the failure of the Federal Government to properly manage the funds saved from the policy was not sufficient reason to reverse it.
The former Anambra State governor spoke on Monday at a high-powered panel session at the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where opposition presidential hopefuls presented their positions on the economy, security, policing and governance ahead of the 2027 election.
Atiku, who had campaigned for the removal of fuel subsidy during the 2023 presidential election, recently said he would restore the policy if elected president in 2027.
Reacting to the proposal, Obi said subsidy should be removed but the resources recovered from the process must be properly managed and invested in areas that directly benefit Nigerians.
“I subscribe and I maintain that we need to remove subsidy. Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it,” he said.
“What we should have done is that when we removed it, we should 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.”
Obi said he had advocated a structured approach to subsidy removal in his manifesto ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
“Go to my manifesto, I said it before, I said I will do it in an organised manner and whatever we recover would be invested appropriately,” he added.
President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy on his inauguration day in May 2023, a decision that led to a sharp increase in petrol prices and heightened concerns over the rising cost of living.
Meanwhile, the NBA conference provided a platform for several presidential hopefuls to outline contrasting positions on the country’s economic and security challenges.
Former Rivers State governor and ADC vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, said Nigeria’s economy could be stabilised through massive job creation, increased local production and policies capable of putting more money in the hands of citizens.
Amaechi also cited projects executed during his tenure as Rivers State governor, including the construction of more than 500 primary schools, over 300 health centres and more than 200 roads. He said his administration also relied on intelligence gathering to tackle crime.
He promised that an Atiku-Amaechi administration would ensure a more equitable distribution of political appointments across the country, while criticising what he described as the concentration of appointments under the Tinubu administration.
Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, Omoyele Sowore, called for a change of government, arguing that the country’s security challenges could not be effectively addressed under the present administration.
Sowore also said he had consistently opposed fuel subsidy because of the manner in which the policy had been administered.
“If there is anybody that has been consistent in the removal of fuel subsidy, it has been me. The question about fuel subsidy is: who are you subsidising? You are subsidising the elite. You are subsidising the governors,” he said.
Sowore and the Social Democratic Party, SDP, presidential candidate, Adewale Adebayo, also argued that a change in leadership was necessary to tackle terrorism and other security threats.
Adebayo, however, differed from other candidates on the structure of policing, advocating a three-tier system comprising federal, state and local government police.
Former Cross River State governor Donald Duke said leadership was at the centre of Nigeria’s challenges, arguing that improvements in other sectors would follow if the country got its leadership right.
He also criticised the influence of ethnicity in Nigerian politics and called for reforms to strengthen the presidential system.
Earlier, President Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, defended the Federal Government’s proposed state police reform, saying the administration had taken on an issue successive governments had avoided.
Speaking in a keynote address titled “Policing in Transition,” Gbajabiamila said the proposed reform was intended to address weaknesses associated with Nigeria’s centralised policing structure.
He warned that centralised policing without adequate safeguards could create further challenges, adding that the proposed system was designed around a dual policing structure to address existing gaps.
Responding to concerns that state police could be abused by governors against political opponents, Gbajabiamila asked, “Who polices the police?”
He identified inadequate police manpower and deployment as major challenges, saying Nigeria had about one police officer to 650 people, compared with an international benchmark of one to 450.
According to him, the situation was further worsened by the deployment of police personnel to administrative and escort duties instead of core policing responsibilities.
Gbajabiamila also stressed the need for improved training, professionalism and institutional safeguards, arguing that policing should become a respected career capable of attracting competent Nigerians.
He acknowledged that governors, as elected chief executives, should have executive authority but said they must not be allowed to order the arrest of political opponents.
He further said police officers who refused to obey unlawful orders should be protected, stressing that such safeguards must be supported by strong institutions.
The exchanges at the NBA conference offered an early indication of the competing positions likely to shape the 2027 presidential contest, particularly on fuel subsidy, economic management, security and the restructuring of Nigeria’s policing system.
