Obi Disagrees With Atiku, Backs Fuel Subsidy Removal

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has disagreed with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over the removal of petrol subsidy, insisting that the policy should not be reversed despite the hardship it has caused Nigerians.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy on 29 May 2023, shortly after his inauguration, declaring that “subsidy is gone”.

The policy has since triggered a sharp rise in commodity prices, transport fares, and other essential goods and services, sparking widespread debate across the country.

The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, who did not initially oppose the subsidy removal, recently pledged to restore it if elected president in 2027.

Obi, however, disagreed with the former Vice President.

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 funds saved from subsidy removal should not be used to justify reversing the policy.

He argued that the government should have provided Nigerians with tangible benefits from the resources saved by ending the subsidy.

“I subscribe and maintain that you need to remove the 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 an alternative usage for the subsidy.

“What we have today is that the removal and the attendant resources being recovered are also being mismanaged and stolen. For example, we have received, according to them, N16 trillion,” Obi said.

The former Anambra State governor said his leadership blueprint for Nigeria provided for the removal of the subsidy in an organised manner, with the savings properly invested in critical sectors for the benefit of Nigerians.

Obi accused the Tinubu administration of failing to effectively utilise the policy’s gains, lamenting the poor condition of key sectors, particularly healthcare.

“The number one thing a nation needs to develop is health. But today, our health and primary care are in very poor condition. Where we are now, we have more maternal and child issues than countries like India,” he said.

Obi argued that even a small proportion of the savings from subsidy removal could have been invested in primary healthcare.

“Assuming, let me use five per cent, you said that they saved N15.8 trillion. So, according to them, N16 trillion. So, five per cent of that is just about N800 billion,” he said.

He added that the funds could have been used to establish primary healthcare centres across the country’s wards.

“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,” Obi said.

The former governor also highlighted the need for greater investment in kidney dialysis facilities across the country.

“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 1,000 centres, but we have fewer 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,” he said.

Obi further argued that Nigeria could have accumulated about $10 billion in its sovereign wealth fund if the savings from petrol subsidy removal had been properly managed.

“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 also said Nigerians could be asked to make sacrifices only if government officials demonstrated fiscal discipline and stopped misusing public resources.