Obi makes U-turn, vows to return subsidy if elected

 The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has promised to restore the petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027, reversing the impression created by earlier comments that his administration would only seek to reform the scheme.

Obi made the promise on Tuesday during an interview with the BBC, where he argued that the major problem with the subsidy regime was the corruption surrounding its implementation.

In his 2023 presidential campaign, the former Anambra State governor vowed to remove the fuel subsidy, stating that the funds should instead be redirected toward critical national development sectors like education, health, and infrastructure.

His sudden U-turn also came about two weeks after his running mate, Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso, backed the idea of reintroducing subsidy in a different form if the opposition party wins the 2027 presidential election.

President Bola Tinubu had declared: “fuel subsidy is gone” during his inauguration on May 29, 2023, saying the funds previously spent on subsidy would instead be channelled into infrastructure, education, healthcare and job creation.

The policy immediately became one of the most contentious economic decisions of the administration, with opposition figures, including Obi and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, criticising aspects of the implementation while the Presidency maintained that subsidy removal was necessary to protect the economy.

Speaking on his position on the subsidy regime, Obi said, “From day one, I’ve talked about subsidy. I talked about corruption; corruption is the problem of subsidy.”

Asked specifically whether he would bring back the subsidy regime if elected, the NDC candidate answered in the affirmative but said his administration would first eliminate the corruption associated with the policy.

“Yes. But remember, I have qualified it, not with the corruption that’s associated with it. I’ll remove the corruption and retain the subsidy.”

Obi also explained how he intended to tackle corruption in government, arguing that the conduct of the President and members of his immediate family would be central to his anti-corruption strategy.

“If you are not stealing, if you are not involved, your wife and family are not involved, you reduce it by 50 per cent,” the presidential candidate said.

His latest position is coming after Kwankwaso had said in September that an Obi-led NDC administration would reintroduce subsidy “in our own way.”