2027: Like Sowore, Atiku promises to restore fuel subsidy if elected president

The candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has said he would restore petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ended the subsidy regime in 2023, a move the government says reduced corruption in the energy sector and freed up money for infrastructural development in Nigeria.

Speaking in an interview on Wednesday, Atiku disputed that claim and said that the Tinubu-led government had not accounted for the funds saved from that economic policy.

“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 in Hausa.

“If elected, I will bring back the oil subsidy, and whoever stole the money must refund it.”

He said the subsidy removal could have been justified if the savings had been invested in development projects across the country.

“The government successfully removed the subsidy, but we do not know where the money went. 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.

Atiku’s promise to restore fuel subsidy puts him in the same bracket as the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, the first to declare the intent ahead of the 2027 election cycle.

President Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy in his inaugural address on May 29, 2023.

The policy led to an immediate rise in the cost of living, with prices of goods and services increasing nationwide, observers and government critics say.

Some state governors, however, say their monthly allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) have risen sharply since the subsidy was removed.

On Wednesday, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedel, said savings from the removal of petrol subsidy had generated N15.8 trillion in resources for the federation between June 2023 and December 2025.

He said the savings were reflected in higher revenue collections, particularly because the naira value of dollar-denominated transactions rose after the exchange-rate reform.