APC DEFENDS FUEL SUBSIDY REMOVAL, SAYS REFORM HAS CREATED FISCAL SPACE AS ATIKU PUSHES FOR RETURN OF SUBSIDY AHEAD OF 2027
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has mounted a strong defence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy, insisting that the controversial reform was necessary to prevent Nigeria from sinking deeper into financial crisis.
The party’s position came after former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar called for the restoration of the petrol subsidy ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The APC, however, rejected the proposal, arguing that returning to the old subsidy regime could reverse what it described as the financial gains recorded since the reform was introduced.
Speaking at the second edition of the APC Professionals Forum Policy Roundtable in Abuja, the party’s National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, who represented President Tinubu, said the administration inherited a difficult economic situation when it took over in May 2023.
He listed several challenges, including alleged distortions in the fuel subsidy system, multiple foreign-exchange windows, weak revenue generation, shortage of foreign exchange, rising debt-service obligations and years of inadequate investment in infrastructure.
According to Yilwatda, the subsidy system had placed enormous pressure on government finances, limiting the ability of the government to invest in infrastructure and other critical areas.
He argued that the decision to remove the subsidy, although painful, was aimed at correcting what the administration considered an unsustainable system.
Yilwatda said the government’s reforms had started producing what he described as measurable improvements in Nigeria’s economic indicators.
He cited the country’s gross external reserves, which he said stood at about $52.7 billion as of August 2026.
He also stated that consolidated non-oil revenue increased from about N13.63 trillion in 2023 to N16.4 trillion in the first two quarters of 2026.
On trade, the APC chairman said Nigeria’s merchandise trade position had moved from a surplus of about N44.8 billion recorded for the whole of 2023 to approximately N7.54 trillion in the first quarter of 2026.
He further cited real Gross Domestic Product growth of 4.43 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 and a decline in inflation to about 15.4 per cent.
The APC said these figures showed that the government’s economic reforms were beginning to change the country’s financial position.
But beyond the figures, the subsidy debate remains one of the most controversial economic issues in Nigeria.
Since the removal of the subsidy, Nigerians have faced significantly higher petrol prices and increased transportation and living costs.
Families, businesses and workers have had to adjust to the effects of higher energy and transportation costs, while government has continued to defend the policy as necessary for long-term economic stability.
The APC Professionals Forum Chairman, Dr Isa Yuguda, also defended the reform, drawing from his experience as Chairman of the Fuel Subsidy Task Force in 2009.
Yuguda said the committee had discovered irregularities, alleged fraudulent practices and financial leakages associated with the subsidy regime.
He argued that enormous amounts of public funds were being consumed by the system without producing the level of benefit expected by Nigerians.
According to him, the money could instead have been invested in healthcare, education, agriculture, security, infrastructure and other sectors of the economy.
Yuguda described subsidy removal as a difficult decision but maintained that it had created fiscal space for government.
He put the savings attributed to the removal of the subsidy at more than N15 trillion.
The former governor also took aim at Atiku’s proposal to restore the subsidy, warning that bringing back the old system without addressing the problems that existed under it could recreate the same financial leakages.
The argument has now placed subsidy policy firmly at the centre of the emerging 2027 political battle.
Atiku and other critics of the Tinubu administration have continued to question the impact of the reform on ordinary Nigerians, particularly amid the cost-of-living crisis that followed the sharp increase in petrol prices.
For the APC, however, the argument is that Nigerians must look beyond immediate hardship and consider the long-term financial consequences of maintaining a subsidy system that the government considers unsustainable.
Yilwatda urged Nigerians to judge the Tinubu administration by the results of its economic policies and the direction in which the reforms are taking the country.
He said the administration’s target remains the creation of a $1 trillion Nigerian economy by 2030, with greater investment in infrastructure, energy, education, transportation and productive sectors.
But critics are likely to continue asking a different question: if subsidy removal has created such significant fiscal savings, why are millions of Nigerians still struggling with high food prices, transportation costs, unemployment and reduced purchasing power?
That question is expected to become even louder as the country moves towards the 2027 elections.
The government’s economic argument is that Nigeria could no longer afford the old subsidy system.
The opposition argument is that the burden of the reform has fallen too heavily on ordinary Nigerians.
The political battle, therefore, is no longer simply about whether subsidy should be removed. It is increasingly about what government has done with the money saved, whether Nigerians are receiving enough value from the reforms and whether the current economic hardship is a temporary sacrifice or evidence that the policy has failed to deliver sufficient relief.
The APC maintains that the subsidy removal saved Nigeria from what it described as a potentially fatal financial hemorrhage.
The opposition is expected to continue challenging that position, particularly as political parties begin positioning themselves for the 2027 presidential election.
With the election approaching, fuel prices, taxation, public spending, revenue generation, debt, food prices and household purchasing power are likely to dominate the national political conversation.
For President Tinubu and the APC, the major task will now be to convince Nigerians that the economic sacrifices made since 2023 are producing benefits that will eventually reach ordinary households.
For the opposition, the challenge will be to present a credible alternative capable of reducing the cost of living without returning the country to the financial pressures associated with the former subsidy regime.
The subsidy debate is therefore far from over.
It has moved from an economic policy disagreement into one of the biggest political questions likely to shape Nigeria’s 2027 presidential contest.
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