‘N16trn saved, yet healthcare is collapsing’: Obi backs subsidy removal, blasts Tinubu’s mismanagement

Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi has broken with rival Atiku Abubakar’s pledge to restore fuel subsidy, arguing at the Nigerian Bar Association conference in Port Harcourt that mismanagement of subsidy proceeds is not sufficient justification for reversing the policy.

As reported by Daily Trust, Obi said: “I subscribe and maintain that you need to remove subsidy. Mismanagement of the proceeds shouldn’t be the reason for not removing it.”

The former Anambra governor accused the Tinubu administration of failing to channel the N16 trillion in claimed savings into critical sectors, particularly healthcare. He outlined how five per cent of the savings — approximately N800 billion — could fund primary care centres nationwide, build kidney dialysis facilities and transform maternal health outcomes.

Obi said the proceeds could have also added $10 billion to Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund monthly, while warning that Nigerians should not be asked to sacrifice while government officials continue misusing public funds.