ABUJA — Former Vice-President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has pledged to restore the petrol subsidy if elected President in the 2027 general election, alleging that the savings from its removal have not been properly accounted for.
Atiku, who made the promise during an interview conducted in Hausa, said although he did not initially oppose the removal of the subsidy, Nigerians deserved to know how the funds saved from the policy had been utilised.
“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,” he said.
The former Vice-President added that anyone found to have misappropriated funds saved from the subsidy removal would be made to refund them.
“If elected, I will bring back the oil subsidy, and whoever stole the money must refund it,” Atiku said.
He argued that the removal of the subsidy could have been justified if the savings had been transparently channelled into development projects, education, security and youth empowerment.
According to him, a future government under his leadership could remove the subsidy again only if the funds saved were properly deployed to improve the lives of Nigerians.
“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. If elected, I can remove the subsidy and use the money to do all these properly,” he said.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had announced the removal of the petrol subsidy during his inauguration on May 29, 2023, a decision that led to a sharp increase in fuel prices and a corresponding rise in the cost of transportation, food and other goods and services.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has maintained that the policy has significantly increased resources available to the federation and the three tiers of government.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, recently disclosed that Nigeria generated about N15.8 trillion in resources from petrol subsidy removal between June 2023 and December 2025.
The development is expected to further fuel political debates over the management and utilisation of subsidy savings as the 2027 general election draws closer.
By CoolNews Nigeria
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