The Vice-Presidential Candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Kwankwaso, says an administration led by the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, would reintroduce fuel subsidy, albeit in a different form.
Kwankwaso, a former Kano State governor, made the statement in an interview with Arise TV on Tuesday while discussing the fuel subsidy policy of President Bola Tinubu’s administration and the positions of presidential candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Asked whether the NDC would face difficulties campaigning in the North-West, where there is support for a return of the subsidy, Kwankwaso said the party would introduce its own form of subsidy.
“No, no, no, look. We are bringing subsidy in our own way,” he said.
Asked how the party would achieve this, Kwankwaso said the government could invest in refineries and increase domestic production to make petrol available to Nigerians at what he described as a reasonable price.
“Of course, there are many ways. One, I can tell you: now we have a refinery built by a businessman, and I’m sure more refineries would be built.
“Now, if individuals in this country could build refineries, I see no reason why government, under certain circumstances, will not build a refinery or refineries to the extent that we achieve the minimum requirement.
“What is the minimum requirement? The minimum requirement is for the people across the country to go to the filling stations and buy fuel at a reasonable price.
“We, in the NDC, will do whatever it takes, really, to put the price of oil down,” he said.
Kwankwaso criticises Tinubu’s subsidy removal
Kwankwaso said the three major presidential candidates in the 2023 election, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, had campaigned on removing the petrol subsidy.
However, he criticised Tinubu for implementing the policy immediately after assuming office, arguing that the government failed to consider the potential consequences of the decision.
“Among the three of them, Bola Tinubu decided to do so and removed the subsidy. And the consequences that we thought would happen, certainly happened,” Kwankwaso said.
He added that the subsidy was removed “immediately—in fact, day one—without looking at all those possible issues that were associated with that. And that’s how we find ourselves in this total mess, economically.”
Tinubu announced the end of the petrol subsidy in his inaugural address on May 29, 2023, declaring that “subsidy is gone.”
Petrol prices subsequently rose from below ₦200 per litre to more than ₦500 in many parts of the country, with higher fuel costs contributing to increased transport and other expenses.
In a July 2023 national broadcast, Tinubu acknowledged that the policy had raised the cost of fuel, food and other goods, but maintained that the subsidy had become financially unsustainable. He said savings from its removal would be redirected to other sectors.
Kwankwaso’s comments come as opposition politicians continue to advance differing positions on petrol subsidy ahead of the 2027 general elections.
At the Nigeria Bar Association’s 66th Annual General Conference in August, presidential candidates and representatives of other parties also expressed differing views on the policy, with some advocating its return and others proposing alternative measures to make petrol more affordable.
