Former Vice-President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has pledged to restore the petrol subsidy if elected president in the 2027 general elections.
Atiku made the promise during an interview on Wednesday, accusing the Federal Government of failing to account for the funds saved from the removal of the subsidy.
The former vice-president said he did not initially oppose the decision to remove the subsidy but questioned how the savings had been utilised.
“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,” Atiku said in Hausa.
He further promised to reinstate the subsidy and recover any funds allegedly misappropriated if elected.
“If elected, I will bring back the oil subsidy, and whoever stole the money must refund it,” he said.
Atiku argued that the subsidy removal would have been justified if the government had transparently invested the savings in projects aimed at improving the living conditions of Nigerians.
According to him, the funds could have been used to tackle insecurity, improve education and create more opportunities for young Nigerians.
“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.
President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy during his inaugural address on May 29, 2023. The decision led to a sharp increase in petrol prices and contributed to rising living costs across the country.
The policy has also resulted in increased allocations to state governments through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), with several governors acknowledging significant increases in their monthly receipts.
Meanwhile, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said on Wednesday that Nigeria generated N15.8 trillion in additional resources for the federation from the effects of petrol subsidy removal between June 2023 and December 2025.
Oyedele said the figure was driven largely by higher revenue collections, particularly the increased naira value of dollar-denominated transactions following the government’s foreign exchange reforms.