Follow Us on Google
Former Edo State governor and Senator Adams Oshiomhole has questioned former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to restore fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027.
Oshiomhole said Atiku had previously argued to him that petroleum subsidy was wasteful and should be removed, recalling their interactions when he served as president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
The senator made the remarks during an interview with TVC on Tuesday while reacting to Atiku’s position on fuel subsidy.
“Atiku Abubakar himself, in his quiet moment, will laugh at himself. Don’t forget, I was the president of the NLC, and as vice president, Atiku lectured me about the waste of petroleum subsidy and why it is necessary to remove it, except that I disagree with them,” Oshiomhole said.
Atiku has repeatedly stated that, if elected in 2027, he would introduce a targeted intervention to reduce fuel costs and ease the impact of high transportation and living expenses. His campaign has subsequently described the proposal as a production subsidy focused on supporting domestic refining rather than subsidising imported petrol.
Oshiomhole, however, questioned the former vice president’s current position by referring to Atiku’s stance during the 2023 presidential campaign.
Other News
“Remember, Atiku is on record, just in 2023, as saying that he will privatise NNPC. You don’t have that tape? He even added that even if they kill him. I don’t know why he needs to die because he wants to privatise NNPC,” he said.
The senator also raised questions about how a privatised national oil company would operate if the government continued to determine the price at which petroleum products are sold.
“So can you privatise something in private hands, and yet dictate to the new owner how to sell the product that he produces?” Oshiomhole asked.
Atiku had previously advocated the removal of petrol subsidy, including during the 2023 election cycle. Premium Times reported that he described subsidy removal as inevitable in 2022 and said during the 2023 campaign that he would complete the process if elected.
The former vice president has since argued that his current proposal is different from the former import-subsidy system. He said the intervention would support locally refined petroleum products, with the objective of lowering production and transportation costs and making fuel more affordable.
The debate over the proposal has become part of the economic policy discussion ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with Atiku presenting the intervention as a way to ease the cost-of-living burden and critics questioning its fiscal and policy implications.
