2027: Obi disagrees with Atiku, backs fuel subsidy removal
Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has weighed in on the fresh debate over the removal of fuel subsidy by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
On May 29, 2023, President Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidy, declaring that “subsidy is gone.”
Since the policy was announced, prices of commodities, transportation fares and other essential goods and services have risen sharply.
The decision had generated mixed reactions, with some Nigerians supporting it while others opposed it on the grounds that it would worsen hardship for the people.
Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, who did not earlier oppose the removal of the subsidy, recently pledged to restore it if elected president in 2027.
Speaking during an interview streamed live on Facebook with some Hausa-language news platforms on Wednesday, Atiku said the removal of the subsidy had failed to improve the lives of Nigerians.
However, Obi, who is contesting the presidency on the platform of the NDC, disagreed with Atiku.
Speaking on Monday at a conference organised by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, Obi said the mismanagement of the gains from subsidy removal should not, on its own, be a reason to reverse the policy.
He said the government should have provided Nigerians with alternative benefits from the resources saved through the removal of the subsidy.
“I subscribe and maintain that you need to remove subsidy. Mismanagement of the proceeds shouldn’t be the reason for not removing it.
“What we should have done is that when we removed the subsidy, we would 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. For example, we have received, according to them, N16 trillion.” Obi said.
The former Anambra State governor, who said his leadership blueprint for Nigeria provided for the removal of the subsidy in an organised manner, said the proceeds recovered would be properly invested for the benefit of all Nigerians.
He accused the Tinubu-led administration of failing to effectively utilise the gains from the subsidy removal, lamenting the state of some key sectors in the country, including healthcare, which he said is in poor condition.
“The number one thing a nation needs to develop is health. But today, our health is very poor, our primary care is very poor, where we are now, we have more maternal and child issues than countries like India.
“Assuming, let me use five percent, you said that they saved N15.8 trillion. So, according to them, N16 trillion. So, five percent of that is just about N800 billion,” Obi said.
He added, “And if today, our biggest problem is the issue of primary care and you decide to put primary care in each ward, today it will cost you, from our own studies, an average of N100 million for one.
“If you decide today, we have an issue now with kidney dialysis. We have over 25 million Nigerians with kidney issues.
“To build a kidney centre, you need N200 million. And we need about a thousand centres when we have less than 200.
“We need about 5,000 machines when we have less than 800. It costs you N200 million to do a centre, and it costs you exactly N10 million to buy one machine,” the Presidential candidate said.
He said Nigeria could have accumulated about $10 billion in its sovereign wealth fund if the proceeds from the removal of petrol subsidy had been saved.
“If they had saved the money and decided to do like any other country, we would have had $10 billion added to our sovereign wealth fund, which, if you add it today, we will get about $10 billion every month, which we can use for a purpose,” he said.
He further stated that Nigerians should not be asked to make sacrifices at a time when government officials continue to misuse public funds.
“So, don’t say because people use the money they are supposed to utilise very well for party, and you say no, we should bring back.
“What I’ve said is that people in government have asked Nigerians to fast. Okay. They cannot be feasting when Nigerians are fasting.” Obi added.
