Obi rejects Atiku’s position on fuel subsidy removal

Presidential candidate Peter Obi has rejected Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to reinstate fuel subsidy if elected in 2027, according to a report by Vanguard. Speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association conference in Port Harcourt, Obi said subsidy removal remained necessary, arguing that mismanagement of the savings, not the policy itself, was the real problem.

He said government should have provided Nigerians with alternatives when the subsidy was scrapped. The disagreement emerged as opposition candidates clashed over security, policing and the economy. Atiku, who backed subsidy removal in 2023, has since proposed restoring it, a position Obi insists contradicts his own 2023 manifesto.