Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has weighed in on the fresh debate over the removal of fuel subsidy by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

On May 29, 2023, President Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidy, declaring that “subsidy is gone.”

Since the policy was announced, prices of commodities, transportation fares and other essential goods and services have risen sharply.

The decision had generated mixed reactions, with some Nigerians supporting it while others opposed it on the grounds that it would worsen hardship for the people.

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

Speaking during an interview streamed live on Facebook with some Hausa-language news platforms on Wednesday, Atiku said the removal of the subsidy had failed to improve the lives of Nigerians.

However, Obi, who is contesting the presidency on the platform of the NDC, disagreed with Atiku.

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 the gains from subsidy removal should not, on its own, be a reason to reverse the policy.

He said the government should have provided Nigerians with alternative benefits from the resources saved through the removal of the subsidy.

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

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

The former Anambra State governor, who said his leadership blueprint for Nigeria provided for the removal of the subsidy in an organised manner, said the proceeds recovered would be properly invested for the benefit of all Nigerians.