The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has disagreed with the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, over the latter’s proposal to restore fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027.

Obi, however, faulted the Federal Government over what he described as the poor management and alleged diversion of resources saved from the removal of the petrol subsidy.

The former Anambra State governor stated this on Monday at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, while responding to the ongoing debate over the subsidy regime.

Atiku, who advocated the removal of fuel subsidy during the 2023 presidential election, has since proposed restoring the policy if elected president in 2027, citing the hardship caused by its removal.

Obi, however, maintained that subsidy removal was necessary, arguing that the major problem was not the policy itself but the failure of government to properly manage the resources generated from it.

“I subscribe and I maintain that we need to remove subsidy. Mismanagement of the proceeds should not be the reason for not removing it,” Obi said.

He argued that the government should have put measures in place to cushion the immediate impact of the policy on Nigerians while directing the savings towards productive sectors of the economy.

“What we should have done is that when we removed it, we should have given the people alternative usage for the subsidy,” he said.

Obi further alleged that the resources recovered from the removal of the subsidy had not been adequately accounted for, claiming that the proceeds were being “mismanaged and stolen.”

“What we have today is that removal and the attendant resources being recovered is also being mismanaged and stolen,” he said.

The former governor said his position on subsidy removal had been clearly outlined in his manifesto ahead of the 2023 presidential election, stressing that he had advocated an organised approach that would ensure the resources saved were properly invested.

“Go to my manifesto, I said it before, I said I will do it in an organised manner and whatever we recover would be invested appropriately,” Obi said.

President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy on May 29, 2023, shortly after his inauguration, triggering a significant increase in petrol prices and intensifying concerns over the rising cost of living.

The Federal Government has continued to defend the policy as necessary to ease fiscal pressure and free up resources for development, while opposition politicians have criticised the implementation of the policy and questioned how the resulting savings have been utilised.

The disagreement between Obi and Atiku adds a fresh dimension to the opposition debate ahead of the 2027 presidential election, particularly over how the next administration should balance fiscal reforms with measures to reduce the economic burden on Nigerians.