Showunmi rejects Atiku’s fuel subsidy proposal, says it’ll take Nigeria “back to Egypt”

The Chief Promoter of the Alternative Movement, Otunba Segun Showunmi, has criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to restore petrol subsidy, saying the policy would amount to taking Nigeria “back to Egypt,” Daily Trust reports.

Atiku, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate for 2027, had pledged to restore the subsidy if elected, arguing Nigerians deserve to benefit from the country’s resources amid worsening living conditions since its removal.

Speaking in Abeokuta during a mobilisation event for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, Showunmi dismissed the proposal, noting that subsidies tried since 1973 had failed to yield results.

“We have seen that nothing has worked. They couldn’t even repair a refinery for so many years. And one private sector person has run a refinery,” he said, describing the subsidy’s proponents as “overtly and inordinately ambitious.”

Showunmi further defended Tinubu’s economic direction, claiming government revenues had improved across all three tiers, and argued for policy continuity, insisting “we cannot be changing leadership every four years.”

He also revealed he had already begun grassroots mobilisation at the polling-unit level across Ogun Central ahead of 2027, dismissing rival aspirants as “jokers” wasting their resources.

On growing opposition to Tinubu from Southern politicians, Showunmi appealed directly to Yoruba voters to rally behind the president, warning against a repeat of a scenario where the North outvotes the South-West for him — a dynamic he said would leave Yoruba people unable to “put your face” once the election is decided.