Presidency, Wike Reject Atiku’s Pledge to Restore Petrol Subsidy if Elected in 2027
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The Presidency and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike have rejected Atiku Abubakar’s pledge to restore petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027, describing the proposal as inconsistent and fiscally regressive.
The Presidency and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, have rejected former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s pledge to restore petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027, describing the proposal as inconsistent, fiscally irresponsible and a reversal of Nigeria’s petroleum-sector reforms.
In a statement titled “Restoring Petrol Subsidies: Atiku’s Volte-Face and Desperation for Power,” the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Atiku — who backed subsidy removal ahead of the 2023 election — had “opportunistically recanted” his position five months before the 2027 vote. Onanuga rejected Atiku’s claim of a ₦30 trillion subsidy “windfall,” saying no such savings existed, and noted that the Petroleum Industry Act had already made the old subsidy regime illegal.
Wike, speaking during an inspection of infrastructure projects in Abuja, questioned Atiku’s consistency, recalling that the former vice president had previously condemned the subsidy. Atiku, now the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, had in an interview promised to reintroduce the subsidy, describing Tinubu’s removal policy as opaque and questioning where the savings had gone.
