Atiku Vows to Restore Fuel Subsidy If Elected in 2027

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has pledged to restore the fuel subsidy regime if elected president in the 2027 general elections, arguing that the funds saved from its removal have not been used to improve the lives of Nigerians. The promise places the subsidy question firmly at the centre of the upcoming political contest as opposition candidates increasingly present alternative approaches to the economic reforms introduced under President Bola Tinubu. Atiku, who is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), made the pledge while speaking with journalists on Wednesday, where he accused the Federal Government of failing to channel proceeds from the subsidy removal into critical sectors such as education, security and poverty reduction. According to the former vice-president, he was not opposed to the removal of fuel subsidy in principle, but questioned how the savings from the policy had been utilised.

“I didn’t oppose the removal of subsidy. But where is the money? The money gotten should have been used to tackle poverty, out-of-school children and other things,” Atiku said. He maintained that the decision to remove the subsidy was expected to free up resources for development but alleged that the expected benefits had not reached ordinary Nigerians. “Where is the money? They stole it. I will return fuel subsidy. The big thing was that they removed the subsidy, but where is the money? Even if I removed the subsidy, I would still work,” he said. The former vice-president also claimed that some former leaders of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had recently approached him and admitted that they now agreed with his earlier position on the subsidy issue. According to him, five past leaders of the NNPC contacted him last week to express a change of position. “Something happened last week. Five past leaders of NNPC called me and said, ‘We didn’t agree when you sketched your plan, but now we agree.’ They said they made a mistake, not me. Until you have power, those things cannot be done,” Atiku said.

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The Federal Government has responded to criticisms by providing a detailed breakdown of the economic reforms. The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed on Wednesday that the removal of the petrol subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market generated approximately ₦15.8 trillion in savings for the federation between June 2023 and December 2025. He presented these figures at the government’s “Nigeria’s Reform Scorecard” briefing in Abuja. Oyedele explained that the savings were shared among the three tiers of government: the Federal Government received ₦5.43 trillion, state governments received ₦6.52 trillion, and local government councils received ₦3.88 trillion. However, he stressed that the reforms did not leave the government with a large pool of cash, as commonly believed. Rather, the savings primarily eased fiscal pressure and reduced the amount the government would otherwise have needed to borrow. “The figures tell a financing story, not simply a savings story,” Oyedele said. The minister highlighted that the Federal Government spent ₦9.39 trillion on wage adjustments, minimum wage increases and allowances for public servants during the period, which exceeded its share of the subsidy savings. An additional ₦9.37 trillion was spent on servicing external debt, reflecting the higher naira cost of meeting foreign currency obligations following exchange rate depreciation, while ₦6.47 trillion was invested in strategic infrastructure and ₦3.14 trillion was spent on electricity subsidy to cushion consumers from higher tariffs.

Oyedele also argued that the removal of the petrol subsidy was necessary to create a viable market for private refining investment, specifically linking the survival of the Dangote Refinery to the policy change. He stated that the plant could not have been commercially viable if petrol had remained at the heavily subsidised price of less than N200 per litre. “Remember, we’re importing refined products. That is to say the Dangote refinery wouldn’t have been able to start because you can’t sell at N200 per litre and queue up for the government to pay the balance of over N1,000 per litre,” Oyedele explained. The minister further argued that without the reforms, petrol would have been officially priced at N185 per litre but would likely have been unavailable at that price, forcing consumers to buy from the black market at approximately N3,000 per litre. The Dangote Refinery commenced petrol sales in September 2024 when petrol was trading around N500 per litre, and as the refinery started production, the government removed the implicit subsidy, raising pump prices above N1,000.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, also addressed the reforms, stating that savings from the removal of the petrol subsidy are being redirected towards economic renewal, infrastructure development and improved public welfare. He acknowledged that the subsidy removal had imposed significant sacrifices on Nigerians but stressed that citizens deserved to know how resources freed by the reform were being utilised. “This is fundamentally about transparency and accountability. The conversation around subsidy removal should not end with the policy decision. Nigerians deserve to know what the reform has achieved, the resources that have accrued from it and how those resources are supporting economic renewal, infrastructure development and public welfare,” Idris said. Oyedele further noted that the reforms had helped stabilise the fiscal space, enabling states to meet their salary obligations, whereas 27 states were unable to reliably pay salaries in May 2023. He also highlighted that headline inflation fell to 15.91 per cent in June 2026 from 22.41 per cent in May 2023, while food inflation dropped from 24.82 per cent to 17.52 per cent. Gross foreign reserves rose to $52.5 billion** from approximately **$35 billion at the start of the reform period.

The removal of the petrol subsidy has had profound effects on ordinary Nigerians. Since the policy took effect in May 2023, fuel prices increased from around ₦190 to over ₦950 per litre, causing long queues and more than doubling transport costs in many states. With transportation costs soaring, the prices of basic goods have followed suit, pushing more Nigerians below the poverty line and eroding the middle class. Small businesses have been particularly hard hit, with many reporting a sharp decline in customers as transport fares surged and disposable income shrank. In Kano, plastic manufacturer Muhammad Khamis Umar told Reuters that more than 80% of his customers had stopped coming since the subsidy removal. Daily sales fell from a high of 1 million naira to 50,000 naira, and he has cut production to 40% capacity. Hair stylist Tina Doofan Orji in Abuja raised her prices by more than half to cover higher petrol costs for her generator, but customers refused to pay, telling her they were prioritising food and school fees.

Atiku’s latest promise represents a significant reversal from his position during the 2023 presidential campaign, when he indicated support for subsidy removal. The former vice-president has now stated that developments since then had changed his position. “I initially did not oppose the removal of the fuel subsidy. But now that it has been removed, where is the money? Where has the subsidy money gone? Has it been used to improve healthcare, education or security?” he asked. The presidency could not immediately be reached for comment on Atiku’s allegation that funds saved from the removal of fuel subsidy had been stolen. President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy shortly after assuming office in May 2023, a decision that triggered a sharp increase in fuel prices and the cost of living across the country. The policy has remained one of the most debated economic decisions of his administration, and Atiku’s pledge places the subsidy question firmly at the centre of the 2027 political contest. The gap between government economic arguments and household realities could become one of the defining issues of the election. As one analyst noted, “People don’t vote for GDP growth; they vote based on what they can feel in their own lives.” For many Nigerians, the economic pain has been tangible, and the debate over whether subsidy savings have translated into tangible benefits is likely to dominate the campaign trail.